New guidance to help councils tackle 'studentification' of university towns » Housing » 24dash.com

A new report that identifies ways to help councils manage high concentrations of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) was published by Housing and Planning Minister Caroline Flint today.

'Studentification' of university towns is a real concern especially during the summer months when neighbourhoods are left dormant because too many properties (HMOs) in one area are rented to groups of students.

The independent research sets out a series of cross cutting measures that could tackle and stop the complex causes and symptoms of concentrated student neighbourhoods.

The measures include new planning mechanisms and the widespread adoption of a number of the best common sense local solutions that can be easily adopted.

• 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 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.

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% 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 & 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.