GMCA Enlists New Housing Officers to Protect Renters
A new generation of housing officers is hitting the streets of Greater Manchester ready to crack down on poor housing, as part of plans to bolster local teams and empower renters.
Thirteen new housing enforcement apprentices – with at least one in every district – have now completed their training and will join the council teams checking rental properties across the city-region and bringing enforcement action against bad landlords.
It’s part of Greater Manchester’s plans to boost local capacity and deliver the UK’s first Good Landlord Charter, as Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham announced today (Friday 18 October) that the Charter will be up and running in May 2025.
The Charter sits alongside the Mayor’s vision for a new Property Check system for renters to sound the alarm about poor housing conditions. The proposals would see residents in substandard rented homes able to request a check, carried out by local teams, and followed up by enforcement action where necessary.
A £150,000 pilot of the scheme, which will look at how a multi-agency approach across the public sector can support the Property Check system, is set to take place in Salford.
It comes as GMCA gets ready for the Government’s Renters’ Rights Bill, which – if passed – would introduce new protections for tenants, and give councils new responsibilities for enforcement action.
The Renters’ Rights Bill includes a commitment to introduce Awaab’s Law, named after two-year-old Awaab Ishak who lost his life in Rochdale because of unacceptably poor housing conditions. Awaab’s Law would set a legal deadline by which landlords would be required to fix serious health hazards in their properties.
Strengthening local teams will tackle poor-quality housing
Following decades of pressure on public services, and the devastating consequences of poor-quality housing writ large, Greater Manchester is taking action to strengthen local teams and call for a new national approach to housing – one that recognises a good home as an essential right, and the foundation of a healthy life.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: “For years now, local councils have been left reeling by a combination of growing pressures and squeezed resources. With this new generation of enforcement officers we are stepping up and strengthening local enforcement teams, so that we can do more to crack down on bad housing practices.
“Whether you own or rent, your home should not do you harm – it should set you up to thrive. That is why we’re taking action to drive up standards with our Good Landlord Charter, which will come into effect from May next year, and empower tenants with a right to a Property Check, followed up with enforcement action.
“It’s also why we’re pleased to see that the Government has committed to bring forward Awaab’s Law as part of new legislation, and we pay tribute to his family and everyone here who campaigned to make that happen.
“Make no mistake – the days of housing being treated as a quick money-making opportunity with no responsibility attached are coming to an end in Greater Manchester.”
Funding has come from the Housing Investment Loans Fund
The training of the apprentices has been funded using revenue from Greater Manchester’s Housing Investment Loans Fund, which has helped to regenerate towns and cities and create new jobs and homes.
In the past nine years, the Fund has helped unlock more than 10,000 new homes across the city-region, supporting a wide range of developers and projects and helping to regenerate brownfield sites at no cost to the taxpayer.
Since 2015, the £300m funding pot has been loaned and repaid twice over, and Greater Manchester is reinvesting its share of the interest to support our housing priorities – including these new apprentices.
Leanne, who completed her apprenticeship in Bolton, said: “When I read an article that the Greater Manchester Combined Authority had funding to train new housing enforcement officers, I saw an opportunity to make a greater contribution. Enforcing housing standards is important to ensure that everyone can live in safe, healthy and secure environments.
“Throughout my training I’ve had the chance to work in a range of different areas, from housing quality and civil penalties to the wider impacts on health and wellbeing. I’m looking forward to taking all of this experience forwards and working with the team to make a meaningful difference for local communities.”
Paul Dennett, City Mayor of Salford and Greater Manchester Housing First lead, said: “Local authorities up and down the country have been hollowed out over the past decades, and in some cases budgets have been stretched to breaking point, with a number of councils already having declared themselves bankrupt or needing to approach Government for financial support to maintain service delivery. Inevitably, 14 years of austerity, the COVID-19 pandemic and more recently the inflationary and cost-of-living challenges have placed immense pressure on council teams, housing associations and our community, voluntary, faith and social enterprise working at the frontline of the housing and homelessness crisis.
“Unfortunately, the consequences of decades of that hollowing out of local government capacity – and specifically the implications of this for regulatory services, workforce planning, and being able to effectively plan for our shared future – isn’t something that can be solved overnight, but will require a fundamental change in our approach to housing. Seeing housing not simply as a commodity or something to be bought and sold on global markets but as a service, as a critical piece of infrastructure that sits as the foundation of people’s and families’ lives, and as a critical frontier in the fight to decarbonise and tackle the climate crisis – that is exactly what we are doing in Greater Manchester. It is this philosophy, and the acknowledgement that a place to call home is a human right, that characterises our Housing First approach in the city-region.
“The apprentices graduating today will play an essential role in our efforts to improve the quality of renting in our city-region, using the tools and the expertise at their disposal to take action against bad landlords and poor-quality housing.
“They join the ranks of dedicated teams working across Greater Manchester to protect tenants, residents and families, and uphold the standards that will also underpin our Housing First philosophy and the new Good Landlord Charter when it comes into effect next year.
“The Government’s Renters’ Rights Bill is a welcome step towards a better and fairer settlement for renters in the private and social rented sectors, and – if passed with the necessary support – would strengthen the hand of council teams enforcing standards and protecting renters. There is a chance now to go further and recognise that the crises of housing and homelessness playing out across the country do not affect each area equally – requiring a proportionate approach to support – and we stand ready to work with the Government to make sure that, when this legislation is brought in, we can deliver on its promise for residents.”
The Good Landlord Charter will be in operation by May next year
Greater Manchester’s UK-first Good Landlord Charter, set to be up and running in May 2025, will set out a clear vision for better renting in the city-region, based on criteria including affordability, inclusivity, safety, and how responsive a landlord is to requests for repairs and maintenance.
The Good Landlord Charter has been developed with local authorities, housing providers, the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) and tenants’ groups. The GMCA is now accepting expressions of interest from landlords to be accredited as part of the Charter, and later this month a provider will be appointed to run the implementation process ahead of full rollout next year.
As well as the 13 new enforcement officers, the GMCA has also funded a total of 27 officers, including the apprentices, to complete their diploma qualifications, and 162 officers to upskill with training.
The GMCA has also invested £250,000 to set up a team of legal experts that will provide advocacy and support to renters, and help local teams to identify chances to intervene when tenants are at risk of harassment or illegal eviction.
