Agenda item

In response to recent changes in Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) legislation, the City Development team, alongside colleagues in Development Control have been exploring a planning response to the issue of HMOs and specifically student housing, including the possibility of Article 4 Directions being used with regard to emerging government policy. This paper provides Members with an update of this work and identifies further work that could be undertaken.

Members considered a report that gave an update on the work that had taken place in response to recent changes in Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) legislation.  Officers in the City Development team and in Development Control had been exploring a planning response to the issue of HMOs and specifically student housing, including the possibility of Article 4 Directions being used with regard to emerging government policy.  The report also identified further work that could be undertaken.

Members questioned a number of points in the report and made the following comments:

• It was important that students were not stigmatised.  There was general agreement that they could be good neighbours and that many landlords were proactive in managing their properties. Good community working was important and it was pleasing to note that the Student Union had indicated that they were keen to support this.  It would be useful for the views of representatives from the higher education establishments to be sought regarding this matter to ascertain their plans in respect of the provision of suitable and affordable accommodation.

• There was a need for shared accommodation for other sections of the community and not just for students.

• It was important to have mixed communities and for there to be sufficient family accommodation.  Further consideration needed to be given to the impact of student accommodation on local amenities and businesses.

• The comments from the Children’s Services Directorate that “primary schools were not being seriously affected despite there being fewer school age pupils actually living in the surrounding area” was not supported by Members’ local knowledge of falling rolls and potential school amalgamations in some areas.  More data was required on this issue.

• There was anecdotal information that families who were looking to move into larger accommodation were having to move away from particular areas because family accommodation was being bought above the market value for the purpose of subdividing the accommodation.  Members were keen to ascertain if this anecdotal evidence could be substantiated. 

• Concerns were expressed that the use of council tax exemptions did not provide accurate figures regarding student housing and that the figures in the report may underestimate the situation.

• It was important that officers carried out further investigative work to ensure that decisions taken were appropriately informed and had a reliable evidence base.

Members considered the following options:

Option One:               to accept the findings of work undertaken at ward level and continue to monitor student housing numbers and HMO applications in the city, awaiting the outcomes of the Government’s consultation on its proposed changes to HMO legislation.

Option Two:               to instruct officers to undertake the proposed further work identified in paragraph 31 of the report to identify local concentrations of student housing and request a future report to the LDFWG setting out further work to be undertaken.

Option Three:             to instruct officers to undertake all of the proposed further work identified in paragraphs 31 to 34 of the report.

RESOLVED:             (i)         That officers be instructed to undertake further

proposed work in accordance with the approach outlined in Option Two.

(ii)That, in addition to the information requested in respect of pupil numbers, officers also provide data referred to in paragraphs 32-34 of the report including:

·        Indicators of student housing and their impact

·        Information on thresholds

·        Consultation arrangements with higher education establishments, including students

REASON:                  To explore if there is compelling evidence to justify an Article 4 Direction as a means of exerting tighter controls on the spatial extent of student housing and if required, develop a policy approach.