Greater Manchester tenants 'exhausted' in damp-hit homes with fly-tipping and soaring bills, report finds

Tenants in Greater Manchester are becoming 'exhausted' and 'overwhelmed' as poor quality housing damages their health and bank balance, a new report has found. Researchers at IPPR North have exposed the shocking reality facing too many tenants in the private rented sector across the area.

Speaking to a focus group of tenants from around Greater Manchester, they heard from residents who had been left 'feeling hard done by' as they endure sub-standard properties - yet feel unable to speak out through fear of being thrown out of their homes. "You feel like nobody is on your side, and they [landlords] always try to one up you," one person told IPPR North.

"They seem to know what to do and what to say, and I lost a lot of trust in private landlords." The report highlights that 21% of homes in the area's private rented sector failed to meet the decent homes standard, according to the English Housing Survey 2020-21, while 38% live in 'poor housing' - and private tenants are more likely to live with a 'category one' hazard than social tenants.

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Tenants who IPPR spoke to raised concerns about the impact of poor housing on their health, and particularly their children's health. The report states: "Damp, pest infestations, fly tipping in gardens, and heating issues have adversely impacted the participants’ quality of life and that of their children.

"It has also negatively impacted their children’s learning environment. This has been a particular concern in the past two years, where children have been taught remotely, due to the pandemic."

Concerns about housing had been raised by the tenants to