Long campaign to protect family housing pays off!
January 27th 2010
Alan Whitehead MP has succeeded in a long campaign with Portswood residents to secure a change in the law to protect family housing in Southampton.
Dr Whitehead today welcomed the government's announcement that it is to change the Use Classes Order to regulate the conversion of family homes into rented housing occupied by multiple households. In the future, the change will require landlords to apply for permission from the Council if they want to change the use of one of their properties from a family home to a House in Multiple Occupancy (HMO)- just as if they were looking to build an extension on to the property.
The Southampton Labour MP brought a 10-minute rule bill to Parliament calling for this change three years ago. At that time, one Tory councillor called the proposals 'illiberal, unjust and tantamount to regulatory blackmail' (though the Tories now claim to support the campaign).
Since that time Dr Whitehead has continued to lobby for these changes in Parliament, including delivering a Southampton HMO roundtable between local residents, local students, and Housing MInister Iain Wright MP, which contributed to the call for change.
Dr Whitehead said:
"I'm delighted that our long campaign has paid off. This will be a good deal for everyone in Southampton, not just people looking for family homes but also students, who will benefit from a tougher licensing regime which landlords will find it harder to evade.
"But Southampton will not get the full benefit of this change unless the Tory Council uses the powers at its disposal to require all landlords of students properties to be licensed. Many family homes in parts of the city have already been rented out as HMOs. We can't turn the clock back for those properties, but we can and should make sure those landlords are maintaining their properties well and being clear with their tenants about their responsibilities on issues like noise pollution and anti-social behaviour."
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- Landlords of large HMOs should currently be registered with the Council before they can rent their property out. A landlord can have their license taken away if they fail to maintain their property to a proper standard. Alan’s change in the law would make it tougher for landlords to evade the licensing system. Getting more landlords licensed in high-demand areas like Portswood will giving students, tenants and other residents real rights over the quality of housing in their area.
- The Tory Council in Southampton uses the weakest form of HMO licensing possible. They exempt all HMOs from licensing if they are less than 3 storeys and house less than 5 people. But most student HMOs in Southampton are only 2 storeys high, meaning most student landlords can avoid licensing all together. Southampton will only get the full benefit of this toughening of HMO laws if the Council uses its powers to require landlords of smaller HMOs to be licensed too.
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