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News archive - January/February 2010

Clampdown on shared rented homes

THE GOVERNMENT is going ahead with plans to crack down on houses of multiple occupation (HMOs), many of which provide homes for students.

Housing minister John Healey confirmed he would be pressing ahead with measures that would allow councils to control the spread of high concentrations of shared rented homes. Under the plans, landlords will have to obtain planning permission giving councils the right to say no to HMOs.

High concentrations of HMOs have been associated with problems of anti-social behaviour, drawing complaints from locals about litter, noise and towns being empty during holidays. Other concerns relate to the loss of family homes and the consequent impact on community provision such as schools.

Of the 950 responses to the consultation, a high proportion (92%) was in favour of the new measures. However, the plans have been derided as a “nimby’s charter” by landlords groups and the National Union of Students. The British Property Federation fears it will clog up the planning system further, jeopardising councils’ abilities to process applications. “At precisely the time where the government should be doing all it can to support housing and support students, it’s twisting the knife in the recovery of the housing market,” says chief executive Liz Peace. “This won’t just affect students, it will hit key workers and other young or low paid people who benefit from being able to cheaply rent a shared home.”

The BPF points out that cities across the UK depend on shared housing as “a first step”. By making it more difficult and costly for landlords to provide this type of accommodation, the measures will reduce choice for tenants and increase pressure on local authority housing lists, it claims.

Property leaders want a local management option to tackle the problems without further legislation. This could take into account local circumstances and offer a cost-effective solution to the problem.

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