Will The Government Stop Students Renting?

The government has proposed to limit the number of houseshares allowed in a single area – a proposal that has been roundly rejected by the NUS, the British Property Federation, the Federation of Small Businesses, the National Landlords Association and the Residential Landlords Association. There couldn’t really be a much bigger rejection than that by the housing industry!

Communities and Local Government, the organisation that sets policy on housing in local areas, say that houses of multiple occupancy (HMOs) are often left empty during the summer and cause problems during term time such as parking issues and anti-social behaviour. Their proposal would limit the number of HMOs allowed in certain areas. What alternatives they expect to replace HMOs, they don’t say.

Some university towns are indeed turned into ‘ghost towns’ during summer, but putting a limit on HMOs isn’t the answer. The fact is, students still need somewhere to live, so what are all those students meant to do? What about all the non-students that houseshare? They’d be affected by Communities and Local Government’s plans too. So would landlords who are no longer able to let out their properties. At this point in time, when mortgages are hard to get and more people are looking to renting or houseshares to save money, the government is mad to interfere!