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Manchester Mayor vows to empower tenants with property checks

Tenants will be able to request their council carry out a property check if they are perturbed by the state of their home, the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has pledged.

Burnham was speaking to BBC Radio Manchester ahead of a public consultation on the ‘Greater Manchester Good Landlord Charter’, which he said would help renters distinguish between accredited landlords and those who aren’t paying to keep their homes in good order.

He said the city would “not accept this whole culture of landlords sometimes taking money through the benefits system, public money, and then not putting a penny of that back into their properties”.

The charter was drawn up by the Mayor, tenants, landlords, and other housing experts, while Burnham made the commitment in 2021.

As part of the plans he vowed to up inspection and enforcement capability, adding “the days of bad landlords being untouchable are coming to an end”.

There will be new teams comprised of staff from the fire service, environmental health staff and police, who are expected to work together to tackle rogue landlords.

The Labour Party MP said “2024 should go down as the year we got serious about housing”, potentially hinting at wider action should his party win the next General Election.

Chris Norris, policy director for the National Residential Landlords Association, said: “The vast majority of private landlords across Greater Manchester provide decent housing and a good service to their tenants. We therefore welcome the consultation’s commitment to ensuring those landlords meeting all their legal obligations are properly recognised.

“As we consider the proposals it will be vital to ensure that the laudable aims of the Charter are backed up by policies to make them a reality. That should include support for those landlords with the hardest to improve properties, improved enforcement to root out rogue and criminal landlords, and ensuring that content of the Charter is consistent with forthcoming changes in the Renters (Reform) Bill.”

 

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