Major review backs Alan's HMO campaign
1st October 2008
A major review of rented housing in the UK has backed proposals put forward by Alan Whitehead to address the growing impact of Houses in Multiple Occupancy on cities like Southampton.
The review, published by the Housing Minister Caroline Flint, advocates several new measures to address problems in cities where landlords buy up family homes and rent them out room by room.
The proposals in the review include:
- Prevent new enclaves by considering changes to the Use Classes Order planning rules allowing for HMOs to be brought under greater council control. This has already been adopted in Northern Ireland.
- Capping and controlling the distribution and the dispersal of HMOs by using the local planning system to set up 'areas of restraint', which have been shown to help balance communities. Nottingham has already established a threshold of 25 per cent per neighbourhood.
- Universities and student unions should develop housing and community strategies that include: community liaison officers; student codes of conduct; neighbourhood helplines; and use of authorised student accommodation agents to help protect students from bad tenancy deals. Many universities have already invested heavily in new student halls which could help ease pressures.
- Councils should target resources such as refuse/letting board collections, street cleansing, fly posting controls at key times in the academic year; establish landlord accreditation schemes; link the demand with regeneration opportunities; work with universities to consider purpose built accommodation; and make better use of their HMO licensing and empty property powers.
Bringing HMOs into the planning system by changing the Use Classes Order was first advocated by Dr Whitehead in a Bill he brought before Parliament in 2007. Since introducing that Bill he has been holding regular meetings with ministers where he has raised the need for a review into the changing nature of the private rented housing sector.
Dr Whitehead said:
“This is an extremely important report which confirms many of the arguments made by myself and other MPs with high concentrations of HMOs in their constituencies. I will lobby for the report’s recommendations to be incorporated into the government’s Community Empowerment, Housing and Economic Regeneration Bill, which I hope will be included in the Queen’s speech.
However, it is worth noting that there are lessons in this report not just for government, but also for universities and local authorities. It is up to all of us to ensure student and other rented housing is of a high standard and does integrate well with the wider community. The decision of the Conservative administration in Southampton to abolish the free student refuse clear-up clearly flies in the face of one of the main recommendations of this report, and I hope ruling Councillors will now be convinced to change their policy.”
Housing and Planning Minister, Caroline Flint said:
"It is not acceptable that current rental practices allow unplanned student enclaves to evolve to such an extent that local communities are left living as ghost towns following the summer student exodus.
"Today's report has identified a series of proven steps councils and universities can take to reduce the dramatic effects of 'studentification' where Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs) cluster too closely together.
"I also want to consider further how the planning proposals might help councils change term time only towns into properly planned towns that blend the student populations into well mixed neighbourhoods that are alive all year round."
There are clear economic benefits from student populations. They make a significant contribution to sustaining and regenerating communities. But their dramatic growth in recent years has seen this type of housing problem increase because students typically group together to rent properties.
An over concentration of houses of multiple occupation in one area can have a negative impact on the neighbourhood and local public services. Student turnover is typically high, 52 per cent in Leeds for example, which can affect the sense of community as increasingly student landlords opt to concentrate properties ever closer together in university towns.
Cities including Liverpool, Loughborough, Leicester Nottingham, Southampton and Bristol have reported more empty properties during the summer meaning shops, businesses, community facilities and pubs simply close down creating 'ghost towns'. In addition there can be anti-social behaviour, litter and parking problems during term time.
Minister for Students Baroness Delyth Morgan added:
"We continue to work with universities, student organisations and Communities and Local Government to help the higher education sector address issues related to large concentrations of students living in local communities, where they exist.
"There is good practice in the sector and sharing it amongst institutions will help give students the opportunity to make a positive contribution to the areas in which they live, as well as ensure they have access to good quality accommodation."
The ECOTEC report is part of wider ongoing work, including the independent review of the private rented sector, which is focusing on improving overall standards in the private rented sector and the rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants. The findings of this report will be taken forward for further consultation that could lead to legislative changes.
Legislation has already been introduced in 2006 to make licensing for certain types of privately rented HMOs mandatory in order to guarantee minimum management standards and property conditions. The new Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme is also helping tenants keep their deposits secure - almost a billion pounds have been effectively safeguarded in its first year.
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More information
- More about Alan's Bill
- Read the report: Evidence Gathering - Housing in Multiple Occupation and possible planning responses
- A major review to improve the private rented sector was launched in January by Communities and Local Government. The independent review looks at what problems tenants and landlords face and what works well in the sector and will conclude next month www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/670940.
- In 2002, a Council run-review into HMOs in Southampton showed that Southampton had more HMOs than ¾ of other local authorities. The number of constituents that have contacted Dr Whitehead regarding HMO conversions in their area, particularly in Portswood and Freemantle, suggests the overall number of HMOs in the city has increased substantially since that review.