Tenants in Greater Manchester are becoming 'exhausted' and 'overwhelmed' as poor quality housing damages their health and bank balance, a new report has found. Researchers at IPPR North have exposed the shocking reality facing too many tenants in the private rented sector across the area.
Speaking to a focus group of tenants from around Greater Manchester, they heard from residents who had been left 'feeling hard done by' as they endure sub-standard properties - yet feel unable to speak out through fear of being thrown out of their homes. "You feel like nobody is on your side, and they [landlords] always try to one up you," one person told IPPR North.
"They seem to know what to do and what to say, and I lost a lot of trust in private landlords." The report highlights that 21% of homes in the area's private rented sector failed to meet the decent homes standard, according to the English Housing Survey 2020-21, while 38% live in 'poor housing' - and private tenants are more likely to live with a 'category one' hazard than social tenants.
Tenants who IPPR spoke to raised concerns about the impact of poor housing on their health, and particularly their children's health. The report states: "Damp, pest infestations, fly tipping in gardens, and heating issues have adversely impacted the participants’ quality of life and that of their children.
"It has also negatively impacted their children’s learning environment. This has been a particular concern in the past two years, where children have been taught remotely, due to the pandemic."
Concerns about housing had been raised by the tenants to their landlords, social workers and health professionals, the report states. Meanwhile, tenants spoke of 'extortionate' energy bills due to disrepair and lack of maintenance of boilers.
The report states this has led to 'economic hardship' for some - in a situation which could become even worse this winter, after a year of soaring energy prices. One tenant said they used 'four to five electric heaters' but still could not keep their house warm. Another said: “If I put £30 on my [prepayment gas] card, before five days it will run out.
"I thought the government had increased the bills, until the social worker came and told me my boiler was old." More than half of rented homes in Greater Manchester fail to meet energy performance certificate (EPC) standard 'C', which will become law in 2025 - yet most tenants spoken to either had not received their property's energy performance certificate or were unaware of it.
Another tenant, who had a poorly sealed balcony door, said: "We really avoid trying to turn on the energy and use blankets because we have a massive energy debt at the moment, [our] information was not passed on to the energy provider correctly [by the landlord]. By the time we reached out to them we were presented with this massive bill.”
IPPR North also spoke to landlords about the situation. The report found that some of the area's landlords have just single or small numbers of rental properties, while others build up a large portfolio - and they take different approaches to managing and maintaining them.
One landlord complained that the relationship with tenants can be 'adversarial' and there is rarely any 'appreciation at all from tenants'. Researchers heard from a landlord who suggested that the idea landlords are 'out to rinse people dry of all their money and make people live in mouldy, horrible conditions' was actually 'far from the truth'.
They added: "Most landlords just want a quiet life, want tenants to live in a reasonable condition like they do themselves, and just get on with their life." Landlords also suggested there can be a lack of financial incentive to carry out improvement works, while one stated that their tenants had previously spent time 'smashing the place up'.
IPPR North says upcoming changes in regulation on the quality and energy efficiency of homes mean landlords will need to make improvements to their properties as soon as possible - to avoid the risk of fines and enforcement action. It suggests a scheme where landlords could borrow money at low interest rates to fund property improvements, while proposing new three-year fixed term tenancies with a limit on rent increases so tenants can benefit from the work.
The report's authors want to see Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) take a leading role on this by supporting landlords as they apply for finance and having accredited businesses able to carry out improvement works, as well as working with councils to ensure housing standards are met. However, IPPR North admits this would require funding and a 'trailblazer devolution deal'.
Plans to negotiate a 'deeper' devolution deal for Greater Manchester were announced in the Levelling Up white paper earlier this year - but that was drawn up during Boris Johnson's leadership and while Michael Gove was the government secretary responsible for the plans. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities insists a 'fair deal for renters' remains a priority for the government though, particularly while household budgets are 'under enhanced strain'.
GMCA says it is carrying out work to help drive up standards across the city region, while making the case for further devolved powers. Steve Rumbelow, Greater Manchester's chief executive lead for housing, told the M.E.N. : “This report paints a clear and concerning picture of a private rented sector that, for too many people, is providing homes that are just not fit for purpose.
"It can’t be right at any time that families are forced to live in homes that are so cold and damp they pose a risk to health, but in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis it is simply intolerable. We know that the private rented sector has grown significantly in Greater Manchester in recent years, as it has in the rest of the country, but national regulations have not kept pace.
"That’s why we’re working with our councils to bring forward a Good Landlord Scheme that will strengthen enforcement of housing standards and increase capacity across our city-region through a new trainee programme. We’ve also launched a Retrofitting Task Force to lead efforts to ensure energy-inefficient homes can be upgraded, tackling fuel poverty and improving people’s homes.
"At the same time as taking action here in Greater Manchester, we’re making a strong case to Government for more devolved powers to address issues in the private rented sector. We want to ensure that good practice is recognised, but that where there are serious failings, authorities have the resources to step in and help residents at risk of harm from their own homes.”
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