The Challenge

In December 2022 the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) commissioned DJS Research to undertake a multi-mode survey among tenants and landlords in the private rented sector across Greater Manchester.

The research was part of a drive by the GMCA to improve standards in the rental market, for both private and social tenants. Their primary objective was to gather insights to inform the development of a ‘Good Landlord’ charter for the city region. This charter would become a voluntary scheme for landlords of all sizes and property types, private and social, who wanted to commit to higher living standards than those currently required to by law. It would become the first scheme in the country to be open to all landlords, without exception, to maximise the scope to improve conditions for renters across the authority. 

Conducting tenant and landlord research early in the charter’s development was vital to understand what makes a ‘good’ landlord and to define the minimum standards that it should incorporate.

The Approach

DJS Research conducted over 1200 tenant surveys, representative of the private rented sector in Greater Manchester (by variables such as district, age and gender). The sample was achieved using a combination of online surveys (promoted through social media and via online panels, as well as GMCA’s own networks), telephone surveys, and face-to-face in-street interviewing in areas of Greater Manchester known to have a high concentration of private renters.

The tenant survey was designed by DJS Research in close consultation with GMCA and aimed to find out the characteristics of private tenants, the type of property they rent, reasons for renting privately and their satisfaction with various elements (including property condition, value for money of their rent and relationship with the landlord/property manager). The survey also explored tenants’ experiences of a range of issues including landlord and letting agent responsiveness, availability of properties to rent, and any discrimination individuals may have faced (for example based on gender, ethnicity or a disability), as well as the factors tenants consider most important when looking for a rental property.

A complimentary survey was conducted with over 350 private landlords via online and telephone interviewing, incorporating private individuals that own rental properties in Greater Manchester, as well as landlords who own properties as part of a business. The landlord survey followed similar themes to the tenants, to identify the characteristics of landlords and their property portfolios, their experiences of renting out their properties and looking for tenants, the factors most important to them when renting out properties and looking for tenants, as well as any support and/or training that landlords may have accessed and their confidence in dealing with issues such as compliance with gas safety and taxation.

The Results

DJS Research produced two detailed reports from the research, focused on tenants and landlords respectively. Interim and final findings were also presented to GMCA’s steering committee for housing, that includes a range of key stakeholders involved in developing the new charter.

The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, is a key driving force behind the creation of a Good Landlord charter and the research to support it, to ensure the findings are used to improve living standards for residents. The insight generated has been fundamental in supporting the development of the Greater Manchester Good Landlord Charter. The full results and reports from this research have been published and are available to view here.

Testimonial

The work by DJS was critical for filling a gap in our understanding of the population that we were designing policy to support and therefore building consensus around our approach. As well as providing valuable data on a wide range of experiences, DJS were able to collect and convey vital information about how experiences differed between people with different protected characteristics. This put us in the best possible position to complete our equalities impact assessment.

John Bibby, Principal Housing Strategy (Private Rented Sector), Greater Manchester Combined Authority.