New figures from Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) show a sharp rise in civil penalties issued to landlords – but the focus on fines has prompted questions about fairness, support, and the risk of driving good landlords out of the market.
According to data revealed this week, a £1.5 million enforcement initiative has led to a 43% increase in civil penalties across the region, with 113 fines issued to so-called ‘criminal landlords’ over the last two years. The scheme, backed by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, has created ten specialist housing enforcement teams tasked with clamping down on bad housing conditions – yet many landlords fear the wider implications of such aggressive tactics.
At the centre of the new approach is Burnham’s “Good Landlord Charter,” which aims to standardise property standards across Greater Manchester’s ten boroughs. But with civil penalties now reaching up to £30,000, questions are mounting over how “bad landlords” are defined – and whether the policy will deter investment in the region’s much-needed rental housing.
“With this new generation of enforcement officers, we are stepping up and strengthening local enforcement teams, so that we can do more to crack down on bad housing practices,” Burnham said, describing the crackdown as a necessary response to limited council resources.
Concerns grow over one-size-fits-all
The scheme has seen Wigan’s team issue 20 civil penalties in the last year alone – up from zero previously. Enforcement officer Helen Baskett explained to The Times, “We used to send an enforcement letter telling landlords to repair something after an inspection, and just be ignored. Now the landlords talk to each other. They’ll say, ‘I got fined £10,000, so you’d better do as they say or it will be you next.’”
But this new culture of fear is leaving compliant landlords on edge. Many argue that enforcement without dialogue risks punishing the wrong people, particularly in cases where minor breaches or miscommunications are treated with the same severity as genuine criminality.
Chris Norris, Policy Director at the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), has repeatedly warned against blanket enforcement. “Targeting serious criminals is absolutely right,” he said in a recent NRLA briefing, “but lumping decent landlords in with them because of bureaucracy or box-ticking doesn’t improve housing – it just reduces supply.”
And that’s the crux of the issue for many: greater enforcement isn’t inherently bad – but without adequate support, guidance, or distinction between landlords trying their best and those wilfully breaking the law, the long-term effect could be disastrous for tenants and investors alike.
Landlords feel squeezed
It’s worth noting that these penalties come on top of a growing stack of regulations already burdening private landlords: mandatory licensing, right-to-rent checks, deposit schemes, and the looming Renters (Reform) Bill.
Wigan enforcement officer Neil Tonge cited “cannabis farms, brothels and overcrowded properties” as some of the more extreme examples they’ve uncovered. But the vast majority of landlords fall nowhere near that category – and many feel demonised by association.
One Manchester-based landlord, who asked not to be named, told us, “I welcome action against slumlords, but the rhetoric around ‘cracking down’ is starting to sound like we’re all crooks. Most of us invest heavily in our properties, keep up with inspections, and work hard to maintain good tenant relationships.”
At a time when the rental market is already under pressure from interest rate hikes and tax changes, some property investors may start looking elsewhere. If the Greater Manchester model is adopted more widely – and early signs suggest it might be – it raises the question: can enforcement and landlord engagement go hand in hand, or will policy continue to lean on punishment over partnership?
Striking the balance
The reality is, Greater Manchester’s approach has hit a nerve. On one hand, councils need tools to deal with truly dangerous landlords – no one disputes that. But the policy’s success should be judged not just by how many fines are issued, but by whether rental conditions genuinely improve without driving away good investors.
As the £1.5 million scheme, funded by the GMCA’s Housing Investment Loans Fund, continues to gain attention from other local authorities, landlords across the UK will be watching closely. If penalties become the headline rather than the safety improvements they’re meant to encourage, we risk creating a sector defined by confrontation, not cooperation.
Landlords deserve clarity, support, and the chance to rectify issues before being penalised. Because when enforcement becomes the first response, rather than the last resort, we all lose – tenants included.
