Just under 2,000 landlord properties in Manchester will have to apply for an additional license to make sure they meet safety standards.
The move this week from Manchester City Council will mean that 1,863, “flats and houses will be required to apply for a landlord license that will make sure these homes meet the necessary safety requirements, have the correct gas and electrical safety certification, and that they can demonstrate good management standards”.
The local authority says its decision for the selective licensing of these homes is to, “require landlords of all private rented properties to obtain a license in a particular area and is intended to address the impact of poor-quality housing”.
The decision comes after the housing department gave local councils wider discretion to issue licenses to landlords in areas of housing concern in December.
Previously, councils had to seek approval from the housing department before handing out a license in an area.
Manchester has handed out licenses in six areas, which include parts of Moss Side, Cheetham and Longsight.
The council has already issued licenses for more than 3,500 homes across the city since 2017.
Manchester City Council executive member for housing and development Cllr Gavin White says: “We know that there are currently fewer regulations and therefore less protection against poor housing in the private sector than other forms of rental homes – such as social rent properties.
“This means that there a minority of landlords who we have found do not take the responsibility for their property, the safety of their tenants, nor the impact of their property on the wider community seriously enough.”
When the housing department liberalised the policy last year, landlord bodies complained that the measure would clash with changes already included in the wide-ranging Renters’ Rights Bill, currently making its way through Parliament.
National Residential Landlords Association policy director Chris Norris said: “It makes no sense that while planning to create a national database of private landlords, the government now wants to make it easier for councils to license landlords as well.
“Ministers must clarify how they plan to prevent the two schemes from duplicating each other.”
Last week, Manchester reclaimed top spot as the best city for residential landlords, with Glasgow, Coventry, Wigan and Bristol making up the rest of the top five in a list of 50 UK urban areas, according to Aldermore’s Buy to Let City 2024 Tracker.
