Redlands Liberal Democrats: HMOs: Action long overdue in Labour-run Reading

tThe government has today responded to growing pressure to do something about the problems sometimes caused by high concentrations of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), which has been highlighted as a particular problem in towns and cities, especially those with high numbers of university students.

Redlands is an area with some of the highest proportion of student let properties and it is very much a live issue for residents living in the ward.

HMO licensing was launched in Reading in 2006 and this aims to regulate the private rented sector and ensure environmental and safety standards are adhered to. RBC's licensing team does a sterling job but with very limited resources. Did you know there are as many private rented houses in Reading as there are in Manchester? This amounts to over 12,000 properties. Within this figure, there are an estimated 900 licensable HMOs.

The Council commissioned a survey of the private rented sector in Reading in 2006. It noted:

The proportion of HMOs at 6.9% is substantially above the national average of2% (an estimated 3,520 properties). Of these, it is estimated that potential 900are within the higher risk category and are subject to mandatory licensing. This does represent a very significant issue for the Council.

We are campaigning to ensure that the well-being of tenants and students in rented properties is protected. Recently I raised the issue of the demise of the Landlord Accreditation Scheme in Reading, which helped students find good places to rent and to reduce their exposure to rogue landlords.

Reading University Students Union contacted me about this as they are unhappy that RBC have scrapped the scheme due to lack of resources. I followed this up with a question to Council earlier this year.

Glenn, Kirsten and i will continue to campaign to get RBC to reinstate the scheme.

The other side of the coin is the impact that large numbers of HMOs can have on residential area. Fortnightly bin collections have been problematic for households with more than 4 adults, and pressure on parking in local roads is another obvious problem. These are all issues which regularly fill our post bag.

Kirsten has been in touch with Planning officers about the big rise in the number of planning applications to extend houses and add extra bedrooms. Buy to let continues to be a popular income stream in Reading, despite concerns nationally about the state of the housing market.

With the popularity of Reading University and the reduction of the number of accomodation for students on campus, this issue is not likely to go away.

I think it's fair to say that the Labour-run Council in Reading is only very belatedly getting round to looking at these issues after years of focussing its attention on Council-owned housing. It is worth remembering, however, that the private-rented sector exhibits some of the poorest housing conditions, which is why it is a priority for the Lib Dem team across Reading.

Rest assured the Redlands Lib Dem team is well aware of the issues connected with HMOs in Redlands and we are working closely with students, residents and Council officers to resolve any problems.