As Joel mentioned in his blog last week, the Department of Communities and Local Government (CLG) released a research publication on the 26 September regarding Homes of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs) and potential planning changes for these. This is one aspect that will feed into the green paper on the private rented sector (PRS) that is planned for November. Another piece of research that will have a major impact on that green paper is the Rugg review that is being launched on 23 October at the University of York. I will be at that launch to ensure that students’ rights as tenants are represented, and we’re ready to respond to any recommendations that report will have, be they good or bad. We’ve also written to the then-housing minister Caroline Flint, and secured meetings with CLG, the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) and Universities UK (UUK) to discuss these matters further. Now that Caroline Flint is out of cabinet, let me assure we will be writing to Margaret Beckett too!

As Joel said, the report from ECOTEC was disappointing to say the least. Methodologically, it did not consult enough, and in my opinion disproportionately listened to one side of the debate. Its recommendations were not persuasive and didn’t seem to clear up the complications that already exist between local problems needed local solutions and the need for national legislation to rationalise the PRS and drive the very worst landlords out of the market and hence drive standards up. It also overlooked that the Housing Act 2004 has had limited impact due to chronic resourcing issues in local authorities, that extra legislation and paper work would only add to. It admitted itself that planning may not be the answer. It also concedes that many new or potential university towns are crying out for students and would welcome more HMOs and students for regeneration and the wealth of other benefits and students and institutions bring. For these towns, such changes are absolutely pointless piece of paper. This is an example of knee-jerk research that picks on students as a scapegoat for wider issues in the private rented sector. And we will not stand for it.

The most worrying by far is the implicit acceptance that planning should be able to decide where people can or cannot live. Apart from this being impossible to execute or police, it’s plain wrong. We are all for the Housing Act giving powers to local authorities to resolve issues in the worst condition housing. We are for institutions having an obligation to plan where their student numbers will live, and think strategically about their student numbers in five to ten years and what impact that will have on local housing. We are for local communities and governments using the wealth, innovation, volunteering and regeneration that institutions bring to an area but not deciding whether certain types of people are allowed in some areas and not others. If you applied that to any other social group you can see how prejudiced that is. What’s more, students are an incredibly diverse bunch; would this include student parents, part time students, a manger on a professional development course? Not only are these ideas wrong then, they are also out of date and not relevant to the student body of the twenty-first century.

I couldn’t agree more with Joel’s messages, so I have echoed them here.

• Students are equal members of this country, the cities they live in and the neighbourhoods they occupy. They deserve the same rights as any other member and as such should not be treated like the whipping boys. Everything from high crime to ASBO culture is being blamed on students and this has to stop.
• You cannot legislate, either openly or through planning and licensing laws, where people live. It is natural that people with similar interests wish to live together; it is their right and one that is extended to all members of this country regardless of race, creed, profession or background.
• Challenging the stereotypes of students within their neighborhoods. A minority of students are louts and troublemakers and the police should treat them just as they would any other lout or troublemaker. There are students who vote and volunteer, who raise and give to local charities and take part in the civic process. We need to challenge the image and the accusations now being levelled at us.

There will be an electronic briefing available by early next week to fill you in on more detail about these issues. I would urge you to read it, email me with any questions you need clarifying and getting a meeting with your local councillors and MPs to ensure that they know you’re there and you’re not going to stand for this. Let’s show them how powerful the student movement is.

In unity,

Ama

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