Sixty private landlords have joined Greater Manchester’s Good Landlord Charter since the initiative launched last year, with another 120 landlords working to meet the standards needed to sign up.

Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) is now encouraging those eligible to sign up for its version of the Warm Homes: Local Grant, which has stricter criteria than other similar schemes in England, as it requires landlords to be Charter members before they can apply to access grants of up to £30,000 to update their rental properties.

New regulations will require landlords to meet EPC C for their properties by 2030, the authority explains. Landlords who become members of the Charter must meet EPC D as a minimum and have a plan in place to meet EPC C by 2028.

Incentive

It says the scheme provides a strong incentive for landlords to improve homes; one eligible property can usually be fully funded, while additional properties can be improved with landlord contributions. Eligible improvements are energy performance (£15,000 cap) includes loft, wall, and floor insulation, double/triple glazing, draught-proofing, solar panels, and smart heating controls, while low-carbon heating (£15,000 cap) includes air source or ground source heat pumps.

Mayor Andy Burnham says it’s a pioneering new model for good growth. “By linking public funding with responsible, ethical behaviours, we’re leading the way in how to build a fairer, stronger housing system and blazing a trail for the rest of the country to follow,” adds Burnham.

Free

The grant is open to private rented properties where tenants qualify and which have a low EPC rating (D–G). Funding will be restricted to about 600 homes.

The Good Landlord Charter – launched last year - is a free and voluntary scheme open to residential landlords with properties in Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, and Wigan. There are 21 membership criteria, including stipulations that landlords must give tenants struggling to pay their rent a “fair amount of time”, that they make or facilitate reasonable adaptations to properties if a tenant needs them, and they must have a clear complaints policy, with an independent stage.

All PRS landlords operating in Greater Manchester are eligible and encouraged to join the Charter.

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