Re-think needed for 'excessive' controls on shared housing

‘Disproportionate and excessive’ controls on shared housing in Worcester should be re-thought before it is too late, one of the city’s leading property experts has said.

Related topics:  Landlords
Warren Lewis
6th May 2014
Landlords
Dani James, chief executive at property management firm Premier Places, is warning Worcester City Council that it risks undoing its own good work and that of the University of Worcester if it ploughs ahead with tough new rules on houses in multiple occupation (HMOs).

The rules are due to come into force from 1 July with a consultation on the plans set to reach its conclusion on 13 May.

The city council wants to bring in a blanket ban on converting accommodation into HMOs, meaning landlords will need planning permission if they want to rent homes for students or professionals who want to share the rent and bills.

But under the policy, known as article Article 4, the council will impose a cap on the number of HMOs per road in Worcester to just 10 per cent, meaning landlords face not only the cost and delay, but also the risk of having their plans rejected.

Recent research by the city council found that there is only one ward of the city where the threshold is passed – the St Clement area, with 12 per cent of HMOs. St John’s, one of the most popular areas for students, has eight per cent. After that, every other ward apart from The Arboretum has fewer than one per cent of HMOs.

Miss James, said: “Worcester City Council is trying to stop certain areas becoming over-run with one type of property. That’s a perfectly reasonable thing to want but the proposal as it stands is disproportionate and excessive.

It would make more sense to introduce the restriction on a ward by ward basis, as and when the 10 per cent threshold is reached. So restricting development in St Clement would be prudent but, as the council’s own research shows, it is simply unnecessary to require planning permission to create HMOs anywhere else in the city for the time being.

The current proposals, where a blanket ban applies to the development of HMOs making up 10 per cent of residential development within a 100 metre radius, are complicated and simply unworkable.

HMOs provide a vital source of affordable housing, not just for the 13,000 students who now attend the growing University of Worcester, but for young professionals and other workers attracted to a city with a high employment rate. It would be hugely to the detriment of Worcester if this policy resulted in a shortage of housing that priced out people who need shared accommodation.

Certain areas near the University need to be looked at. But the council should not go ahead with a policy that prices students and workers out of the city.”

Premier Places has its own dedicated student advisory service, Student Places, who can help them find a suitable, good value property for the next academic year.

See www.premierplaces.co.uk for more details.

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