Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has devised a new charter scheme which he wants all GM landlords to join.
All landlords in Greater Manchester will be expected to sign up for the scheme which is the first of its kind in the UK.
This GM “Good Landlord Charter” is a pioneering initiative aimed at improving rental standards for both private and social tenants. Originally conceived in 2021 the scheme initially underwent a public consultation and a process of development throughout 2023. It was eventually launched last year.
The Good Landlord Charter is a combined initiative of Mayor Andy Burnham and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA). It is run by an independent Implementation Unit and delivered by TDS.
Local authorities, housing providers, tenant groups, and landlords across Greater Manchester are setting new high standards to transform their tenants’ renting experience. It is open to residential landlords with properties in Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, and Wigan.
Any Burnham has hailed this a 'new era for renting' as his Charter starts to gain momentum. More than 100 landlords have signed up so far, including private and most social housing providers, involving more than 234,000 homes.
The scheme is free for landlords to join and is voluntary. It covers 21 charter membership criteria including safety, affordability, inclusivity, maintenance, management and tenant support, etc.) These criteria in many cases exceed legal requirements.
Landlords can join as a Supporter where they pledge to work toward achieving all 21 criteria, or they can be assessed for full Charter Membership.
Administered independently, the Implementation Unit will be overseen by a selected board of landlords, tenants, and experts appointed at the end of 2024.
The scheme has its own website and operates a digital platform to help tenants identify responsible landlords, offering them support and other resources.
Here are the 21 criteria for full landlord membership:
Here are the 21 Membership Criteria of the Greater Manchester Good Landlord Charter, grouped under the official seven categories:
1. Affordable - Provide a clear and fair rent review or setting process. Offer a fair amount of time to tenants struggling to pay rent. Ensure properties meet EPC C as a minimum, within achievable timescales and for Social landlords, avoid using the mandatory rent arrears eviction ground.
2. Inclusive - Make or facilitate reasonable adaptations to properties where needed and join an Adaptations Register if applicable. Demonstrate a commitment to accepting tenants from any background
3. Private & Secure - Allow tenants to make reasonable changes to their homes. Arrange access to tenants’ homes by agreement only—except in emergencies
4. Responsive - Publish target response times and adhere to them. Have a clear complaints policy, including an independent escalation stage
5. Safe & Decent - Apply an effective approach to property inspections. Ensure landlords and managers are “fit and proper persons”. All repairs are handled by qualified or competent persons. Adopt standards for what should happen at the start of each tenancy. Provide adequate space standards and essential amenities
6. Supportive - Commit to referring tenants at risk of homelessness to local councils. Use transparent, easy-to-understand tenancy contracts. Adopt professional advertising and viewing standards. Provide or signpost tenants to useful information and support services
7. Well Managed - Demonstrate accredited management experience or use an accredited agent. Use clear tenancy processes at the start and end of each tenancy.
Some of these standards go beyond current legal minimum requirements though the posing of the Renters’ Rights Bill will mean that landlords will be obliged to meet them in any case.
An Evidence Portfolio - landlords will submit a file of documentation including their rent-review policies, inspection logs, tenant sign-off forms, training certificates, example tenancy contracts, and copies of published response times/complaints policy.
A Technical Panel - will review the submitted evidence. The expert panel consisting of landlords, tenants, property practitioners will evaluate the submissions for completeness and credibility.
It’s a Governing Board Decision – the panel will submit recommendations to the Governing Board which has the authority to grant full membership status.
There’s Ongoing Assurance - members are subject to periodic monitoring inspection spot-checks, tenants are asked for feedback, there will be enforcement referrals, and annual reviews to ensure ongoing compliance.
The Implementation Unit Role - provides landlords with hands-on support, for example, webinars, guidance materials, drop-in sessions, and template documents. It helps landlords to prepare through training, mentoring, gives access to legal/training services, and to accredited lettings agents. A digital platform will help tenants identify those responsible landlord members of the scheme and offers them support resources
Those who are judged to be meeting all these standards will become accredited landlords under the Charter, at no cost to themselves. Successful member landlords will then be listed publicly on the Charter's Goodlandlord website allowing renters to check if they have been accredited.
The scheme comes in at a time when local authorities are continuing a crackdown on poor rental housing standards with nearly £1.5m collected in fines over the last two years. Any Burnham has said that he hopes the Charter scheme will drive up standards in Greater Manchester with a 'twin-track' approach: recognising and helping good landlords, while punishing the bad ones.
Salford mayor Paul Dennett also fully supports the scheme. Speaking recently at a housing conference in Manchester he said he wants 'all private landlords' in GM to sign up to the charter, but also said he recognises that some landlords will be reluctant to do so:
"It's about sorting the wheat from the chaff and then using our resources to tackle, through enforcement, the really poor standards.
"That's where we want to go with this. It's a strategic approach ultimately to housing enforcement which we've never had before because of austerity," said Mr Dennett.
So far, it is estimated that over half of all the homes across the city-region are covered by the charter thanks to lots of GM landlords signing up early. This includes 95 per cent of social housing landlords, with all social landlords who are members of the Greater Manchester Housing Providers group having joined.
Mr Dennett said he expects all social housing landlords operating in Greater Manchester to meet the standards in the Charter. However, he emphasised that he recognised some social housing providers are not currently meeting these standards. He particularly highlighted the incident in Rochdale of two-year-old Awaab Ishak’ death. Awaab died in 2020 because damp and mould was present throughout his flat in Rochdale.
The Manchester Evening News has long campaigned for legislation that puts strict deadlines on landlords to respond to hazards. Mr Dennett said that the Good Landlord Charter gets Greater Manchester landlords ready for the coming new legislation incorporated in the Renters' Rights Bill.
Speaking at the conference, Mr Dennett mentioned an amendment in the new bill that would allow council housing officers to carry out spot property checks and as Any Burnham has said, renters would have the right to request a 'property check' as part of his new charter.
[Main image credit: Andy Burnham Wikipedia]
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