Student houses in York could be halved in order to protect 'residential family homes'

Independent councillor Mark Warters said the number of student HMOs in parts of the city was “out of control”.

His motion, backed at a full council meeting on December 16, called for the “acceptable percentage thresholds” of HMOs across built-up areas of the city to be halved, subject to a review and approval by the council’s executive.

Current rules, set out by the Labour administration in 2012, allow for HMOs to represent up to 20 per cent of properties at neighbourhood level and 10 per cent at street level.

Coun Warters said: “In certain wards, HMOs are almost exclusively student-let properties and it’s wilful naivety to suggest otherwise. The issue of student housing HMOs is out of control – it’s a situation driven on the east of York by the sheer greed of York University.”

Coun Warters said figures showed that the city currently needs to accommodate more than 21,000 students, rising to nearly 30,000 in the year 2030.

He added: “No matter how many purpose-built, off campus student accommodation flat blocks are built, there will always be pressure on residential family homes if this council doesn’t act.”

Coun Warters, who represents Osbaldwick, near the University of York, has repeatedly raised the issue over many years, and has said the council does not hold accurate data on the number of HMOs in the city.

The motion also called for council officers to update and publish that data online.

Coun Warters added: “It’s time to protect residential neighbourhoods in Hull Road, Lawrence Street, Tang Hall, Heslington, Osbaldwick and Murton from this and put the pressure back on the university to accommodate more of its student on campus or stop enrolling so many.”

Labour’s housing spokesman Michael Pavlovic said that while he did not agree with all of Coun Warters’ speech, he did agree that the issue needed looking at.

He said HMOs were often “vital” for those on low wages, those needing supported accommodation, including refugees, and for housing resettlement of the homeless.

He added: “We’re not saying that ‘family housing – good’ and ‘HMOs – bad’. There needs to be a healthy balance. However, problems arise in some areas of the city where this balance isn’t maintained.

“Good relationships between, particularly student HMOs, and their permanent neighbours are important, but on occasions tensions can arise.”

Councillor Rachel Melly, who lives in a HMO, said it was important not to “demonise” them.

She added: “The housing crisis in York is so bad that people in their thirties, married couples, parents with children – disproportionately women – are living in HMOs because there are no other affordable housing options.

“If there is currently an over-reliance on HMOs in the city, then that is because of the administration’s failure to tackle the housing crisis, forcing people into cramped, overcrowded accommodation.”