Andy Burnham calls for councils to force landlords to sell non-compliant properties
Town halls should be empowered to compel landlords to sell homes that are not brought up to standard, Labour’s Andy Burnham has asserted, reports BritPanorama.
The Mayor of Greater Manchester made this demand during a Resolution Foundation think tank event, advocating for councils to be able to implement compulsory purchase orders on substandard rental properties to assist tenants living in poor conditions.
Burnham’s comments arise amidst a report from a cross-party group of MPs indicating that approximately 430,000 social homes continue to fail the decent homes standard. This situation has seen little improvement since the pandemic, underscoring ongoing challenges within the housing sector.
Mr Burnham articulated that “homes have been left in disrepair to make money for absent landlords, while everyone else pays the consequences.” He argued for giving local councils the necessary powers and funding to compulsorily purchase homes within the private rented sector that are deemed non-decent.
The decent homes standard, currently applicable to social housing, is expected to be fully implemented across private rentals by the year 2035. This standard mandates that homes must be safe, provide decent value, and maintain acceptable quality.
Landlords are facing an estimated £26.5 billion bill to upgrade their properties in compliance with the upcoming standards. Burnham’s push for expanded local authority powers comes as he is considered a potential Labour leadership challenger to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
As discussions around housing remain central to British politics, the implications of such proposals could have a considerable impact on the future of housing policy in the UK.
