Andy Burnham’s housing record as Mayor of Manchester is under increased examination following his emergence as a leading contender to succeed Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister.
During his tenure in Manchester, Burnham has advocated for lower rents, large-scale council housebuilding, stricter rental sector standards, and increased local authority intervention in housing markets. His policy positions contrast with current Labour housing policy, which has seen public confidence drop to 17%.
Council housing investment
Speaking at a Resolution Foundation event in Westminster earlier this year, Burnham stated: “Our aim as a country should be very explicit: lower rents, lower water bills, lower energy bills.”
In a Telegraph interview, he supported a £40 billion borrowing programme to fund council housing, describing it as the largest state-backed housing intervention since the 1970s. When questioned about the borrowing scale, Burnham said Britain needed to stop being “in hock to the bond markets”, though he later clarified he was not suggesting the country should ignore bond markets, but that governments had left insufficient room for large-scale investment.
Burnham has also backed higher council tax on expensive homes in London and the South East, arguing the current system unfairly benefits owners of high-value property because council tax valuations remain based on 1991 prices.
Private rental sector enforcement
In the private rented sector, Burnham has combined enforcement action against non-compliant landlords with support for property improvements. Greater Manchester reported a 43% rise in landlord fines to £1.47 million earlier this year, with funds reinvested in protecting tenants from unsafe housing.
Simultaneously, grants of up to £30,000 have been made available to landlords undertaking EPC improvements through Greater Manchester’s Good Landlord Charter. “We are proactively supporting landlords to make improvements and incentivising them to take responsibility for their properties,” Burnham said.
Burnham’s tenure has coincided with billions of pounds invested in regeneration and residential development across Greater Manchester. His approach represents a shift towards greater state intervention in housing markets, contrasting with market-led approaches favoured by previous administrations.
