According to the BBC news, landlords with properties in Brighton could soon be forced to pay £450 if they choose to let their properties to students. This move is part of the local council’s bid to expand the current Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licensing scheme as a way of controlling noise and litter pollution in student areas of the city and improve the overall level of student accommodation.
Under the current rules, a HMO license only applies to three story dwellings with five or more sharing the living accommodation, but Brighton council wants to expand this to include smaller properties in specific areas of the city. Unsurprisingly, student representatives are not too happy about the proposal. The president of the student union at the University of Sussex thinks local landlords will simply pass on the increased cost to their student tenants and rents will go up, which will force students out of the city in the search for affordable student accommodation.
However, the local council leader, Bill Randall, is adamant that the proposal will benefit the local community and reduce the number of incidents related to students living in the city, although he is quick to point out that not all students are the cause of problems in Brighton.
Personally, I’m not sure how charging landlords of smaller properties for a HMO license will solve noise and litter issues as some students are always going to cause problems, irrespective of where they live. What it WILL do is discourage smaller landlords from letting their properties to students.
