The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, will address the Residential Landlord Association’s (RLA) Future Renting North Conference in Manchester next month, on the 24th of April.
Burnham is a former cabinet minister and Greater Manchester MP, and vows to come through on a way to tackle the housing crisis in the region. This was one of his key election promises, and a part of this newfound solution is to introduce a Good Landlord Scheme to the private residential market, in order to ‘better regulate private rented sector landlords’, according to the RLA.
The idea of the Good Landlord Scheme will essentially be to encourage landlords to take good care of their rented accommodation and provide a better standard of living for tenants. Other cities such as Nottingham have implemented schemes with the aim of accomplishing a similar goal, such as Nottingham’s new licensing scheme, specifically for private rental homes. Check out this article to read more about this city council’s scheme.
Burnham has been responsible in the past for drafting the region’s housing-related matters since the election, some of which have focussed on tackling homelessness and shifting new-build housing away from high-end developments and into more affordable homes. As the mayor, he’s also been in charge of overseeing a drive to end homelessness and rough sleeping by 2020.
Future Renting North Conference
Burnham will also be the headline speaker at the Future Renting North Conference, which follows on from a successful partner conference held in Cardiff, the Future Renting Wales Conference, attended by over 200 landlords. There was a positive discussion on the future of the sector, with many delegates coming away much more informed. The Future Renting North Conference is a national, one-day conference that offers a packed program of events and is the second date in the RLA’s event calendar.
In addition to Andy Burnham’s headline speech, attendants will meet other landlords and agents, be able to share their experience and exchange advice. Important information from Westminster will also be discussed – with the latest up-to-date legislation on tax, energy efficiency and implementation of welfare reform.
The conference will be held at the Concord Conference Centre in Manchester, so in addition to all the fun of hearing about the private rented sector, you’ll also be able to take a tour of the Concorde, and experience its impressive and unique engineering first-hand.
Open to landlords of any portfolio size (whether you rent just one property or many more), property managers, letting agencies and owners, councillors and officers, journalists and anyone interested in more information about the privately rented sector.
Tickets for Future Renting North are available from the RLA’s website: ww.rla.org.uk/future-renting-north, priced at £45 for members and £60 for non-members (correct at time of posting). The RLA is also looking to hold an event in London for a similar purpose.
With more awareness surrounding the rental sector, and key political and local authority figures also taking initiatives to better represent those most affected, the housing market will hopefully improve for landlords and tenants alike.