Landlords who refuse to improve poor quality rented homes will have their properties taken over by councils, Andy Burnham announced today in his first Labour Party conference speech as Prime Minister.
Under the plan, landlords will be given a warning about the state of a property and, if they refuse to act, the local authority will be able to confiscate the home.
Mr Burnham told delegates and activists in Liverpool: “Go to almost any town across Britain, and you will see plenty of empty homes. We will give councils the power to take control of them and bring them back into the public housing stock.”
He added: “You will see rented homes in a poor state of repair too, on so many British streets, homes which harm the health of the people inside and drag down the streets around them.”
The worst of those homes, he said, were “often owned by absent landlords who are paid through the benefit system but refuse to reinvest anything in the upkeep of the property”.
“It is time to call an end to this,” Mr Burnham said. “Landlords who rent out the worst quality homes will be given warnings to improve them. If they refuse, we will make it much easier for councils to acquire those homes, and we will legislate if necessary.
“We don’t let people sell food which damages health, so why allow it with homes? From now on, we won’t.”
Condition of private rented homes
Privately rented homes have the worst conditions of any tenure in England, according to a House of Commons Library briefing on the sector.
The briefing reports that the English Housing Survey estimated 23 per cent of privately rented homes, around 1 million properties, did not meet the Decent Homes Standard in 2021. That compared with 13 per cent of owner-occupied homes and 10 per cent of social-rented homes, the Library said.
The same briefing identifies inconsistent and low levels of enforcement of housing standards by local authorities. It links this to limited council capacity, a lack of knowledge of the private rented stock and a lack of political or corporate commitment to address low standards.
The Prime Minister’s announcement follows reforms already under way through the Renters’ Rights Act, whose first changes took effect on 1 May 2026.
According to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Act gives 11 million renters in England stronger rights. The department has said a database of landlords and rental properties and a Private Landlord Ombudsman will be rolled out from late 2026.
The department has also said the government will introduce a Decent Homes Standard for privately rented homes for the first time, giving councils more power to act against landlords who do not meet it.
Pensions and electoral reform
In the speech, Mr Burnham also set out his plans for housing, energy, water, the care service and electoral reform.
He said pensions would rise either by CPI inflation or by a minimum of 2.5 per cent, removing the link to average earnings from April 2030, a change he said would generate “significant savings”. Mr Burnham said those savings would be used to build up a National Care Service.
The Prime Minister said Labour would fight the next general election on a promise to introduce a form of proportional representation, and announced a national commission on electoral reform.
The British Chambers of Commerce said the speech gave business “encouraging signals” on costs, but that next month’s Budget, due on 28 October, would be the critical test for the government.
