On Friday, 26 September, the housing and housing minister Caroline Flint announced the publication of a green paper on the question of HMO planning legislation. The government has decided to listen to those who would judge students as second class citizens and have now defined an HMO as a house in which three people live who are not related. It also gives powers to council to licence where these HMO’s can be created. This effectively gives your local council the power to legislate where you can and can’t live if you live with two other people.

This policy position was lobbied for and driven by the National HMO lobby a group who still believes in polices of student housing restraint, who believes that due to the fact that students are victims of burglary that they should not live in areas with residents, that as long as you are a student you are the problem. I know this as they said so on national radio while debating against the Bristol Union President.

If this green paper passes councils will have the ability to dictate where students can and can’t live and if the current debate is anything to go by, the popular areas such as Headingly in Leeds or Clifton in Bristol will have an HMO quota restraining students rights to live where they choose.

Planning is about parking and waste collection, licensing is about safety of accommodation. Neither of these tools should ever be used to control a socio-economic group, neither should be used to legislate where members of a community can or can’t live, neither should be used to attract ‘ideal members of a community’ back into an area.

NUS needs to mobilise and quickly, in my opinion at the head of the campaign should be three messages:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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 leveled at us.

Students’ unions across the country are putting in community officers and reps to create stronger and better ties with their communities, we are talking yet until we are respected as equal members of the cites we live in, the debate will never take place on an equal footing.

In unity
Joel
Joel.braunold@nus.org.uk

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