Property group concerns over 'nimby's charter'
Monday, 10 August 2009 12:20 PM
Proposals to clamp down on houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) have been met with anger from housing groups.
The government's 'nimby's charter' could affect immigrants, young professionals and others who rent HMOs, as well as students and landlords, say property professionals.
They say the legislation will dictate where people can live based on their income.
The new consultation aims to clear students out of residential areas, with the government saying too many in one area can impact negatively on the local community.
But a joint response from housing experts has warned the changes are a knee-jerk reaction to 'studentification', saying local businesses as well as landlords could be negatively impacted by the changes.
The response comes from a coalition of the National Student's Union (NUS), British Property Federation (BPF), National Landlord's Association (NLA) and Residential Landlord's Association (RLA).
The group says using planning laws to restrict HMOs will raise rents and drive out students, young professionals and immigrants who rent them because they are affordable. Local businesses, particularly those which rely on student custom, also face being hit if students are driven out.
Liz Peace, chief executive of the BPF, said: "You can't use the planning system for social engineering or to tackle anti-social behaviour.
"Only a tiny fraction of places suffer from a high concentrations of HMOs and using a broad brush approach to deal with different issues relating to anti-social behaviour makes no sense."
"Students live and work within their communities and contribute hugely to their local areas through charity work and campaigning on local issues, not to mention the massive boost they give to the local economy.
"These proposals would marginalise students by forcing them to pay private companies to live in large ghettos away from the rest of the community," Wes Streeting, president of the NUS added.
But the government has hit back at the group's criticism, saying students can be a "real problem" for communities.
A Communities and Local Government (CLG) spokesperson said: "Students bring benefits to the places they live in, but too many residing in one area can impact negatively on a community, running down neighbourhoods and leaving places as ghost towns during the summer.
"This is a real problem in many communities across England, which is why communities secretary John Denham is committed to finding a long term solution to current rental practices."
