Prime Minister Andy Burnham has used his first conference speech as Labour leader to pledge a nationwide crackdown on rogue and absentee landlords.
The announcement, which came as part of an impassioned speech, looks set to expand on the blueprint he set during his time as Mayor of Manchester.
Promising to restore “housing stock to what it once was” Burnham told attendees in Liverpool that landlords of the worst quality homes would be given warnings to make improvements. If they fail to do so, the government will “if necessary” give councils the power to enact the compulsory purchase of those homes for public housing.
The promise was part of a wide-ranging speech in which he said he would increase public control over the housing market and deliver “the biggest council housebuilding programme since the post-war era”.
Leasehold reform
Burnham also said he would take action to support leaseholders, telling attendees that his government “will introduce a bill before Christmas for long overdue leasehold reform.”
Earlier this year the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill was published, outlining sweeping changes which include capping ground rents and making commonhold the default model for all new-build flats.
But since then, progress has stalled. The promise to formally introduce it to Parliament will be welcome news to leaseholders and potentially a boost to a market that has seen flat sales flatline over recent months.
“Unfinished business”
Taking to the stage just hours before the Prime Minister, Housing Minister Angela Rayner also touched on leasehold reform, saying that she will take action to stop leaseholders from being “ripped off”.
Claiming she had “unfinished business” with the “scandal faced by millions of leaseholders who have found their dream of homeownership turn into a nightmare” - Rayner announced an independent regulator for estate agents, letting agents, and management agents with the power to set standards and revoke licenses.
Our take
The headlines are dramatic and the language is deliberately evocative, but for landlords this is a case of evolution, not revolution.
The crackdown on rogue landlords is an extension of what Burnham did in Manchester - and if it genuinely targets the worst operators, it’s something we’d all welcome. But giving councils the power to compulsorily purchase properties and giving them the funding and capacity to actually do it are two very different things. These are councils that can barely keep on top of existing enforcement, let alone take on the responsibility of managing a growing portfolio of acquired homes.
There’s also a familiar risk here. Announcements like this don’t just spook the bad landlords - they spook the decent ones too. And every decent landlord who decides the hassle isn’t worth it and sells up is another rental property that might not be replaced. We’ve seen what happens when supply shrinks. Rents go up, competition gets fiercer, and the people these policies are supposed to help end up worse off.
On leasehold reform - this has been on the cards for years, and if they genuinely manage to get it in front of Parliament by Christmas, that will be great news for owners and investors.
Overall, the direction of travel is positive. But as with everything that comes out of party conferences, these promises are heavy on rhetoric and light on detail. We’ll be watching with interest to see how they pan out in the weeks, months, and no doubt, years to come.