At the end of February, Andy Burnham signed an open letter to the Government calling for a freeze on private sector rents. He was joined by his fellow Labour metropolitan mayors in London and Liverpool, along with the two co-leaders of the Green Party, Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay, the Greater Manchester Tenants Union, the Greater Manchester Law Centre, several Labour Councils, unions and organisations across the country in signing the letter to housing secretary Michael Gove.

 

What the letter asked was:

 

The Government must now act to protect renters. We therefore call on the government to follow the lead of the Scottish government and:

 

·        Introduce an immediate freeze on rents to protect renters.

·        Implement an immediate ban on evictions until the cost of living crisis is over.

·       Deliver on the commitment to end section 21 by fast tracking the much-delayed Renters Reform Bill.

 

In response Tory Government said: “We continue to work with the sector and tenants, however, evidence shows rent controls in the private sector do not work – leading to declining standards and a lack of investment and may encourage illegal subletting. Our reforms will deliver a fairer deal for renters, including empowering them to challenge unjustified rent increases and a ban on Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions.”

 

This response is neither true nor adequate to the urgent action we need right now in this cost-of-living crisis for our city’s private renters.

 

The urgent nature of the crisis also shows why plans to increase housing supply, even if they were to actually be implemented by this council, are inadequate on their own – any effect on price of new supply would take years to filter through and not make much difference in the here and now.

 

This council notes that:

 

·       Privately rented homes in Manchester make up around 32% of the total housing stock.

·       The average cost of privately renting a property in Manchester, according to property websites, has increased in 2022 by 20.5%, from average monthly rent of £959 to £1,157. In January 2023 that had risen to £1,600.

·       Around 40% of council homes have been transferred to the private rented sector through right-to-buy. The UK Housing Review 2022 branding right-to-buy as a ‘strategic failure’. Many of those homes ended up in the unregulated private rented sector and often were NOT offered to families at an affordable rent.

·       Increasingly unaffordable rents makes the Council’s efforts to accommodate homeless people and families by using temporary accommodation inherently inflationary and precarious.

·       Understandably the council are trying every avenue to reduce the costs and provide a decent standard of housing for our residents, however recent proposals to offer to bring private stock up to a living standard and supplement the rent for a period of 12 months, both incentivise private landlordism and leave families at risk of future eviction. This at a time when the higher rent hits families already struggling with the cost of living.

·       The current demand for rented properties at affordable prices has led to an increased power imbalance between tenants and landlords, resulting in tenants being very wary of  asking for repairs for fear of eviction, and the rising prevalence of ‘bidding wars’ – where letting agents encourage private renters to outbid one another for a property. This clearly has a negative effect for renters, particularly low-income households.

·       Manchester’s Labour administration’s work so far to support private renters, includes the roll out of the short term selective landlord licensing schemes, attempting to stamp out illegal ‘no DSS’ discrimination, the launch of the concept of a Manchester Living Rent to increase the homes that all Manchester people can afford. The motion for “a potential temporary cap to protect private tenants from further rental increases at a time of crisis” is a further theoretical step in the right direction. We need to commit to real action now.

 

The council believes that:

 

·       Housing should be regarded first and foremost as homes rather than investment assets.

·       Rent controls are needed in Manchester to stop homes in the private rented sector becoming increasingly unaffordable.

·       Effective rent controls should be proportionate and data-driven.

·       Landlord Licensing schemes are an effective tool to improve conditions in the private rented sector. These schemes should be expanded city-wide.

·       Further action is needed to protect private renters and ensure their homes are not in poor condition.

·       Private renters are less likely to complain about problems with their homes if they face a threat of losing it as a result. Therefore, the Government should bring forward the legislation it pledged to outlaw no fault evictions immediately.

·       The Renters Reform White Paper should be strengthened. The Renters’ Reform Coalition’s ‘Safe, secure and affordable homes for all: A renters’ blueprint for reform’ should be the basis for reforms to the Private Rented Sector.

·       Right-to-buy should not be expanded to include housing associations, as was included in the 2022 Queen’s Speech – which outlines a government’s legislative agenda.

 

Therefore, this council resolves to:

 

 

1.    Write to Manchester MPs Mike Kane, Afzal Khan, Lucy Powell, Jeff Smith and Graham Stringer, letting them know that this motion has been passed, and urging them to support the letter to the Housing Minister.

2.    To condemn the practice of bidding wars in the private rented sector.

3.    Support the Renters’ Reform Coalition proposals  and lobby the government to strengthen the Renters’ Reform White Paper. This includes calls for a national landlord register and abolishing the ‘Right to Rent’ checks.

4.    Oppose any expansion of right-to-buy to include housing associations.    

 

This Council recommends to the Executive as follows;

 

1.    Ensure that officers serve improvement notices on homes with severe hazards to prevent landlords from serving Section 21 notices and enable Rent Repayment Orders if the landlord fails to comply. Council officers should also seek to serve more improvement notices for excess cold in homes that fail Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards, and help private renters claim back rent through rent repayment orders when they are eligible to do so.

2.    Increase the capacity of the Council’s Housing Enforcement and Selective Licensing teams to act.

3.    Ensure that officers have the resources needed to strongly enforce the ban on letting agent fees.

4.    Instruct officers to find ways that Manchester City Council can work to end the practice of ‘bidding wars’ in the private rented sector.

5.    Instruct officers to submit a plan to the government of possible ways to boost affordable home ownership rates without depleting social housing stock.

6.    Publish an annual “living rent index” of what affordable rents would be for Manchester.

7.    Maintain a publicly accessible list of Enforcement Notices served on Private Housing in Manchester if no such national database materialises following the Renters Reform bill.

8.    Set up, with our GMCA partners, a Great Manchester Renters Reform Forum and ensure that Manchester Renters are included in its membership.

 

Proposed by Councillor Johnson, Seconded by Councillor Bayunu and Supported by: Councillors Nunney, Leech and Good

 

Motion Proposed and Seconded: Councillor Johnson and Councillor Bayunu

 

At the end of February, Andy Burnham signed an open letter to the government calling for a freeze on private sector rents. He was joined by his fellow Labour metropolitan mayors in London and Liverpool, along with the two co-leaders of the Green Party, Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay, the Greater Manchester Tenants Union, the Greater Manchester Law Centre, several Labour Councils, unions and organisations across the country in signing the letter to housing secretary Michael Gove.

 

What the letter asked was:

 

The Government must now act to protect renters. We therefore call on the government to follow the lead of the Scottish government and:

• Introduce an immediate freeze on rents to protect renters.
• Implement an immediate ban on evictions until the cost-of-living crisis is over.
• Deliver on the commitment to end section 21 by fast tracking the much-delayed Renters Reform Bill.

 

In response Tory Government said: “We continue to work with the sector and tenants however, evidence shows rent controls in the private sector do not work – leading to declining standards and a lack of investment and may encourage illegal subletting. Our reforms will deliver a fairer deal for renters, including empowering them to challenge unjustified rent increases and a ban on Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions.”

 

This response is neither true nor adequate to the urgent action we need right now in this cost-of-living crisis for our city’s private renters. 

 

The urgent nature of the crisis also shows why plans to increase housing supply, even if they were to actually be implemented by this council, are inadequate on their own – any effect on price of new supply would take years to filter through and not make much difference in the here and now.

 

This council notes that:

• Privately rented homes in Manchester make up around 32% of the total housing stock.
• The average cost of privately renting a property in Manchester, according to property websites, has increased in 2022 by 20.5%, from average monthly rent of £959 to £1,157. In January 2023 that had risen to £1,600.
• Around 40% of council homes have been transferred to the private rented sector through right-to-buy. The UK Housing Review 2022 branding right-to-buy as a ‘strategic failure’. Many of those homes ended up in the unregulated private rented sector and often were NOT offered to families at an affordable rent.
• Increasingly unaffordable rents makes the Council’s efforts to accommodate homeless people and families by using temporary accommodation inherently inflationary and precarious. 
• Understandably the council are trying every avenue to reduce the costs and provide a decent standard of housing for our residents, however recent proposals to offer to bring private stock up to a living standard and supplement the rent for a period of 12 months, both incentivise private landlordism and leave families at risk of future eviction. This at a time when the higher rent hits families already struggling with the cost of living.
• The current demand for rented properties at affordable prices has led to an increased power imbalance between tenants and landlords, resulting in tenants being very wary of asking for repairs for fear of eviction, and the rising prevalence of ‘bidding wars’ – where letting agents encourage private renters to outbid one another for a property. This clearly has a negative effect for renters, particularly low-income households. 
• Manchester’s Labour administration’s work so far to support private renters, includes the roll out of the short-term selective landlord licensing schemes, attempting to stamp out illegal ‘no DSS’ discrimination, the launch of the concept of a Manchester Living Rent to increase the homes that all Manchester people can afford. The motion for “a potential temporary cap to protect private tenants from further rental increases at a time of crisis” is a further theoretical step in the right direction. We need to commit to real action now. 

 

The council believes that:

 

1. Housing should be regarded first and foremost as homes rather than investment assets. 
2. Rent controls are needed in Manchester to stop homes in the private rented sector becoming increasingly unaffordable.
3. Effective rent controls should be proportionate and data driven. 
4. Landlord Licensing schemes are an effective tool to improve conditions in the private rented sector. These schemes should be expanded city-wide.
5. Further action is needed to protect private renters and ensure their homes are not in poor condition.
6. Private renters are less likely to complain about problems with their homes if they face a threat of losing it as a result. Therefore, the Government should bring forward the legislation it pledged to outlaw no fault evictions immediately.
7. The Renters Reform White Paper should be strengthened. The Renters’ Reform Coalition’s ‘Safe, secure and affordable homes for all: A renters’ blueprint for reform’ should be the basis for reforms to the Private Rented Sector.
8. Right-to-buy should not be expanded to include housing associations, as was included in the 2022 Queen’s Speech – which outlines a government’s legislative agenda.

 

Therefore, this council resolves to:

1. Write to Manchester MPs Mike Kane, Afzal Khan, Lucy Powell, Jeff Smith and Graham Stringer, letting them know that this motion has been passed, and urging them to support the letter to the Housing Minister.
2. Ensure that officers serve improvement notices on homes with severe hazards to prevent landlords from serving Section 21 notices and enable Rent Repayment Orders if the landlord fails to comply. Council officers should also seek to serve more improvement notices for excess cold in homes that fail Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards, and help private renters claim back rent through rent repayment orders when they are eligible to do so. 
3. Increase the capacity of the Council’s Housing Enforcement and Selective Licensing teams to act. 
4. Ensure that officers have the resources needed to strongly enforce the ban on letting agent fees. 
5. To condemn the practice of bidding wars and instruct officers to find ways that Manchester City Council can work to end the practice of ‘bidding wars’ in the private rented sector. 
6. Support the Renters’ Reform Coalition proposals and use council resources to lobby the government to strengthen the Renters’ Reform White Paper. This includes calls for a national landlord register and abolishing the ‘Right to Rent’ checks. 
7. Oppose any expansion of right-to-buy to include housing associations and instruct officers to submit a plan to the government of possible ways to boost affordable home ownership rates without depleting social housing stock. 
8. Publish an annual “living rent index” of what affordable rents would be for Manchester.
9. Maintain a publicly accessible list of Enforcement Notices served on Private Housing in Manchester if no such national database materialises following the Renters Reform bill. 
10. Set up, with our GMCA partners, a Great Manchester Renters Reform Forum and ensure that Manchester Renters are included in its membership.

 

Councillor Karney moved an amendment to the motion, which was seconded by Councillor Chambers:-

 

At the end of February, Andy Burnham signed an open letter to the government calling for a freeze on private sector rents. He was joined by his fellow Labour metropolitan mayors in London and Liverpool, along with the two co-leaders of the Green Party, Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay, the Greater Manchester Tenants Union, the Greater Manchester Law Centre, several Labour Councils, unions and organisations across the country in signing the letter to housing secretary Michael Gove.

 

What the letter asked was:

 

The Government must now act to protect renters. We therefore call on the government to follow the lead of the Scottish government and:

 

•           Introduce an immediate freeze on rents to protect renters.

•           Implement an immediate ban on evictions until the cost-of-living crisis is over.

•           Deliver on the commitment to end section 21 by fast tracking the much-delayed Renters Reform Bill.

 

In response Tory Government said: “We continue to work with the sector and tenants, however, evidence shows rent controls in the private sector do not work – leading to declining standards and a lack of investment and may encourage illegal subletting. Our reforms will deliver a fairer deal for renters, including empowering them to challenge unjustified rent increases and a ban on Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions.”

 

This response is neither true nor adequate to the urgent action we need right now in this cost-of-living crisis for our city’s private renters.

 

The urgent nature of the crisis also shows why plans to increase housing supply, even if they were to actually be implemented by this council,  are inadequate on their own – any effect on price of new supply would take years to filter through and not make much difference in the here and now.

 

This council notes that:

 

•           Privately rented homes in Manchester make up around 32% of the total housing stock.

•           The average cost of privately renting a property in Manchester, according to property websites, has increased in 2022 by 20.5%, from average monthly rent of £959 to £1,157. In January 2023 that had risen to £1,600.

•           Around 40% of council homes have been transferred to the private rented sector through right-to-buy. The UK Housing Review 2022 branding right-to-buy as a ‘strategic failure’. Many of those homes ended up in the unregulated private rented sector and often were NOT offered to families at an affordable rent.

•           Increasingly unaffordable rents makes the Council’s efforts to accommodate homeless people and families by using temporary accommodation inherently inflationary and precarious.

•           Understandably the council are trying every avenue to reduce the costs and provide a decent standard of housing for our residents, however recent proposals to offer to bring private stock up to a living standard and supplement the rent for a period of 12 months, both incentivise private landlordism and leave families at risk of future eviction. This at a time when the higher rent hits families already struggling with the cost of living.

•           The current demand for rented properties at affordable prices has led to an increased power imbalance between tenants and landlords, resulting in tenants being very wary of  asking for repairs for fear of eviction, and the rising prevalence of ‘bidding wars’ – where letting agents encourage private renters to outbid one another for a property. This clearly has a negative effect for renters, particularly low-income households.

•           Manchester’s  Labour administration’s work so far to support private renters, includes the roll out of the short term selective landlord licensing schemes, attempting to stamp out illegal ‘no DSS’ discrimination, the launch of the concept of a Manchester Living Rent to increase the homes that all Manchester people can afford. The motion for “a potential temporary cap to protect private tenants from further rental increases at a time of crisis” is a further theoretical step in the right direction. We need to commit to real action now.

 

The worst cost of living crisis since the 1950s is coinciding with a national housing crisis. The result of this will be an increasing number of our residents deprived of one of the most fundamental pillars to a healthy and happy life – a secure, stable, and affordable home.

 

Manchester’s housing problems are a direct result of Government policy from 2010 which has unfairly cut and defunded our city, and the lack of any national effort for building affordable homes have driven people into an unregulated private sector.

Manchester City Council launched an ambitious new 10-year Housing strategy in 2022, building 36,000 homes, including at least 10,000 social and genuinely affordable low carbon homes over the next decade. The Housing Strategy includes plans to increasing housing supply to meet the needs of our growing population; build more social and council housing, build more low cost, low carbon homes» Addressing rising levels of homelessness across the city, investing in the Council’s housing stock and ensuring it is well managed; address fire safety in residential blocks; build supported housing.

 

In June 2022 Manchester launched Manchester Living Rent- the ambition that no one should have to pay more than 30% of their income on rent. The Council is expanding landlord licencing schemes and working to improve the rented sector where it can but has long called for more powers of regulation over the rented sector.

 

The council believes that:

 

•           Housing should be regarded first and foremost as homes rather than investment assets.

•           Rent controls are needed in Manchester to stop homes in the private rented sector becoming increasingly unaffordable.

•           Effective rent controls should be proportionate and data-driven.

•           Landlord Licensing schemes are an effective tool to improve conditions in the private rented sector. These schemes should be expanded city-wide.

•           Further action is needed to protect private renters and ensure their homes are not in poor condition.

•           Private renters are less likely to complain about problems with their homes if they face a threat of losing it as a result. Therefore, the Government should bring forward the legislation it pledged to outlaw no fault evictions immediately.

•           The Renters Reform White Paper should be strengthened. The Renters’ Reform Coalition’s ‘Safe, secure and affordable homes for all: A renters’ blueprint for reform’ should be the basis for reforms to the Private Rented Sector.

•           Right-to-buy should not be expanded to include housing associations, as was included in the 2022 Queen’s Speech – which outlines a government’s legislative agenda.

 

The Council notes:

 

·                     Manchester City Council passed a motion on the housing crisis on 5^th October 2022 which called on the Government to:

 

·           Increase Local Housing Allowance rates in line with rising private market rents - making these more affordable and reducing the proportion of income spent on rent at a time when household budgets are increasingly squeezed

·           Introduce rent reforms and a potential temporary cap to protect private tenants from further rental increases at a time of crisis

·           Legislate a no winter evictions guarantee to protect private tenants from homelessness through the most challenging period of the cost-of-living crisis

·           Reform Right to Buy - safeguarding remaining social housing stock for our most vulnerable residents, but also increasing affordable housing targets and expanding pathways to homeownership so that the right to own your own home can still be a realistic goal for all residents

·           Prioritise the passing of the Renters’ Reform Bill that seeks to improve standards and regulations across the private rented sector to better protect tenants.

 

This Council further notes

 

·                         Manchester Labour has long called for more powers to regulate and control the private rented sector to drive up standards and protections for tenants

·                         Calls for a Renters Charter was contained in the Manchester Labour Manifesto in 2019, it called for national powers to allow rent controls; the right to repairs; an end to no fault evictions; stronger council powers over failing landlord

·                         Greater powers over the rented sector were called for as part of the latest round of Devolution

 

Therefore, this Council resolves to: calls for

 

1          All Private Renters in the city to write to the Conservative housing Minister 

 

2          For all private renters to work with the Labour Council to secure a Labour Government to ensure a radical renter’s chart for our city

 

3.         To re-endorse the motion passed on 5^th October 2022 and its actions

 

4.         To Support calls for a Renters Charter, and to roll out the Greater Manchester Good Landlords Charter in our city

 

1.         Write to Manchester MPs Mike Kane, Afzal Khan, Lucy Powell, Jeff Smith and `Graham Stringer, letting them know that this motion has been passed, and urging them to support the letter to the Housing Minister.

2.         Ensure that officers serve improvement notices on homes with severe hazards to prevent landlords from serving Section 21 notices and enable Rent Repayment Orders if the landlord fails to comply. Council officers should also seek to serve more improvement notices for excess cold in homes that fail Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards, and help private renters claim back rent through rent repayment orders when they are eligible to do so.

3.         Increase the capacity of the Council’s Housing Enforcement and Selective Licensing teams to act.

4.         Ensure that officers have the resources needed to strongly enforce the ban on letting agent fees.

5.         To condemn the practice of bidding wars and instruct officers to find ways that Manchester City Council can work to end the practice of ‘bidding wars’ in the private rented sector.

6.         Support the Renters’ Reform Coalition proposals and use council resources to lobby the government to strengthen the Renters’ Reform White Paper. This includes calls for a national landlord register and abolishing the ‘Right to Rent’ checks.

7.         Oppose any expansion of right-to-buy to include housing associations and instruct officers to submit a plan to the government of possible ways to boost affordable home ownership rates without depleting social housing stock.

8.         Publish an annual “living rent index” of what affordable rents would be for Manchester.

9.         Maintain a publicly accessible list of Enforcement Notices served on Private Housing in Manchester if no such national database materialises following the Renters Reform bill.

10.       Set up, with our GMCA partners, a Great Manchester Renters Reform Forum and ensure that Manchester Renters are included in its membership.

 

Resolution

 

The amendment to the motion was put to the Council and the Lord Mayor declared it carried. The amended motion then became the substantive motion.

 

The substantive motion was then put to the Council and the Lord Mayor declared it carried.

 

Decision

 

The Council notes:

·         Manchester City Council passed a motion on the housing crisis on 5 October 2022 which called on the Government to:

·         Increase Local Housing Allowance rates in line with rising private market rents - making these more affordable and reducing the proportion of income spent on rent at a time when household budgets are increasingly squeezed

·         Introduce rent reforms and a potential temporary cap to protect private tenants from further rental increases at a time of crisis

·         Legislate a no winter evictions guarantee to protect private tenants from homelessness through the most challenging period of the cost-of-living crisis

·         Reform Right to Buy - safeguarding remaining social housing stock for our most vulnerable residents, but also increasing affordable housing targets and expanding pathways to homeownership so that the right to own your own home can still be a realistic goal for all residents

·         Prioritise the passing of the Renters’ Reform Bill that seeks to improve standards and regulations across the private rented sector to better protect tenants.

 

This Council further notes

·                         Manchester Labour has long called for more powers to regulate and control the private rented sector to drive up standards and protections for tenants

·                         Calls for a Renters Charter was contained in the Manchester Labour Manifesto in 2019, it called for national powers to allow rent controls; the right to repairs; an end to no fault evictions; stronger council powers over failing landlord

·                         Greater powers over the rented sector were called for as part of the latest round of Devolution

 

Therefore, this Council calls for:

1             All Private Renters in the city to write to the Conservative housing Minister.

 

2          For all private renters to work with the Labour Council to secure a Labour Government to ensure a radical renter’s chart for our city.
 

3.         To re-endorse the motion passed on 5^th October 2022 and its actions.

4.         To Support calls for a Renters Charter, and to roll out the Greater Manchester Good Landlords Charter in our city.