What Could Andy Burnham Mean for Property, Housing and the PRS?

If all goes to plan, well, to someone’s plan anyway, Andy Burnham MP looks likely to become our next prime minister. It may already have happened by the time you read this. Let’s look at what this could mean for housing and property, and particularly for the private rented sector.

Andy Burnham in government

It’s easy to forget that Andy Burnham is not, necessarily, the breath of fresh air some people might be suggesting he is. His political career began as a researcher and adviser to Labour Party politicians in the 1990s. He served as Labour MP for Leigh, Lancashire, from 2001 to 2017, before becoming the first directly elected mayor of Greater Manchester. During his time in government he held several cabinet (and shadow cabinet) positions, mainly in culture, health and education. He has made two unsuccessful attempts at becoming Labour leader.

Politically, some commentators describe Burnham as ‘soft left’.

A national newspaper recently disclosed that Burnham is a landlord himself and owns a property which he rents out in south London.

Andy Burnham as Greater Manchester Mayor

Burnham resigned as an MP and subsequently was elected as the first Greater Manchester Mayor in 2017. He has proved very popular with residents, of different political persuasions, across the region and was re-elected in both 2021 and 2024.

The Greater Manchester Mayor also chairs the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, or GMCA. The GMCA has responsibility for planning and housing, amongst other areas. However, policy is mostly delivered by the 10 separate local authorities that make up Greater Manchester.

It is during this period that Burnham’s views on housing, and particularly the PRS, began to emerge.

Whilst being broadly pro-development, Burnham has suggested that affordable housing schemes funded by developers are ineffective in boosting housing supply. Not only that but that they actually hold back new housing construction. He has expressed a preference for boosting supply via council or social housing development instead. In 2024 he pledged that 10,000 new council homes would be built across the region by 2028.

However, the GMCA’s most significant PRS-related projects under Burnham have been the New Deal for Renters policy and the subsequent Good Landlord Charter. The Charter was launched in summer 2025 for both social and PRS landlords.

The Good Landlord Charter is a voluntary scheme which requires participating landlords to commit to standards that are above the legal minimums. There are 21 criteria for membership including practising inclusive letting practices, managing property well, treating tenants fairly, and having a property improvement plan, including achieving an EPC rating of at least C for their properties.

Although, of course, other areas have similar landlord charters, the Greater Manchester scheme is perhaps one of the most comprehensive. To date almost half of Greater Manchester’s rental properties, covering 234,000 residents, are part of the scheme.

Other policies pursued by the GMCA under Burnham include the launch of a property check scheme for tenants who have issues with their home and more financial resources for enforcement. This has included funding to hire more enforcement officers and training for new apprentices. There is a programme to bring empty homes back into use and potentially even compulsorily purchase them for social housing. There is a plan to reclaim Local Housing Allowance (Housing Benefit) from landlords who let substandard accommodation.

The Charter also seeks to support good landlords. For example, private landlords can apply to the Warm Homes: Local Grant scheme. This offers up to £30,000 for the first property and £15,000 for subsequent ones towards the cost of energy performance improvements.

Interestingly, it is reported that additional enforcement activity in the area has led to a 43% increase in penalties levied against landlords. Penalty income rose to around £1.5 million in the last two years compared to around £1 million in the previous two years.

Some of the elements of the Good Landlord Charter have been superseded by the Renters’ Rights Act of course. But could this kind of ‘carrot and stick’ approach to pushing standards above what is legally required and a more radical approach to enforcement be what Burnham has in mind for the future of the PRS nationally?

Andy Burnham’s possible future policies

Next let’s take a look at some of the things Burnham has said over the last year or so and particularly since becoming an MP again this June that might offer some more clues on his future policy ideas for housing and the PRS.

In a speech at the end of June, he said that housing and tackling the housing crisis is a priority, saying: “Everything starts with a good home”.

He has indicated a preference for a more ‘hands on’ government, suggesting that privatisation has been the cause of many of today’s economic and social problems. He has said energy, water, transport and significantly housing, should be under: “stronger public control”.

He has said that he is in favour of more local government devolution. This could give more powers over housing to more devolved local authorities.

When it comes to taxation, Burnham appears to favour taxes on wealth over taxes on income. He appears to support proposals from campaigning groups for an annual land value tax to replace Stamp Duty and Council Tax and reforms to Capital Gains Tax. Amongst other things this could push up landlords’ overheads and subsequently have implications for rents.

In 2023 Burnham asked the then Conservative Housing Secretary Michael Gove for powers to impose rent controls in the PRS. (Perhaps not unsurprisingly though these were not granted.) He suggested that many landlords were using the cost of living crisis as an excuse to raise rents, but some did not actually need to.

Burnham has previously spoken out against the situation where those who cannot find social housing are forced into the PRS. And particularly the expense local authorities incur by having to provide temporary accommodation, which is sometimes of a poor standard, in the private sector. He suggests this is an inefficient way of spending public money on providing housing.

Burnham has advocated a ‘three strikes and you’re out’ approach towards deficient landlords. He appears to support a system where empty property and substandard rented property could be compulsory purchased and used for social housing.

In a recent speech he reinforced his previously held belief that the social housing sector should be massively expanded. He confirmed that, under his leadership, there could be £39 billion of borrowing to build 500,000 social rented homes over the next decade.

Some final thoughts

Now let’s take in a few thoughts about what Andy Burnham’s accession could mean for the sector.

Burnham certainty seems to be very enthusiastic about expanding supply in the housing market and providing more housing that people can afford. That cannot be a bad thing in principle. However, even assuming the money can be found, this kind of policy will have to overcome the hurdles that have stopped similar policies before. Such as the shortage of developable land in the right places, the cumbersome planning system and the shortage of construction skills.

However, Burnham’s enthusiasm seems to be mainly directed at expanding the social sector. He does not seem to have much enthusiasm for the private rented sector, despite the fact that it currently provides 11 million people with a home.

And he appears to be very pro-regulation. If his policies in Greater Manchester are to be replicated nationally, and he has promoted ‘Manchesterism’ as a model for his future leadership – there could be quite a lot of stick and a very little slice of carrot for PRS landlords. Landlords who are, of course, still coming to terms with the Renter’s Rights Act.

Burnham’s potential future housing policies could be very radical indeed. They would also take time to implement. Some might say possibly more time than Burnham will have in the role. However, even the pure mention of these policies could help persuade more investors and landlords that the PRS is no longer for them. Pending delivery of the 500,000 new council homes, what will 11 million PRS tenants do in the meantime?

For those in enforcement, what could it mean if Burnham’s policies do come to pass? It could certainly be a busy time. There could be a lot more work, a lot more things to enforce and a lot more resources to do it.

Lastly, it is important to point out that the Prime Minister does not have the final say on housing policy, of course. But Burnham will be (or has been) put into power by Labour MPs who are relying on him to keep them in their jobs. And he will need their support to stay in his. So who would bet against a good amount of his thinking finding its way into proposals for new laws? All ears will certainly be on the next King’s Speech.