Bath MP Don Foster is writing to the new Minister for Housing and Planning, John Healey MP, asking him not to let the response to this summer’s consultation on House of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs) drag.

Earlier this year, the government consulted on changing the use class order of HMOs which would, in effect, mean someone wishing to convert a family home into a HMO would have to apply for planning permission.

Oldfield ward Lib Dem Councillor Shaun McGall has been lobbying for changes to the law for a number of years. He said,

Where areas have a high concentration of HMOs it can add a number of strains to the community, for example in car parking and refuse collection. Councils have not had the ability to do anything about the rise of the HMO, meaning that communities, such as Oldfield Park, can change very quickly as private landlords buy family homes to convert. HMOs do serve a purpose, but they need to be controlled so that local communities aren’t damaged. That is why this government consultation is so important.

Bath MP Don Foster said,

This consultation was finished in August, but the new Minister doesn’t seem to have any expectation of when the findings will be published, partly because of the overwhelming response. I have written to him to stress the importance of this issue, which is affecting communities up and down the country. When we clearly need more affordable housing, it is important that councils have the power to prevent more family housing being converted into HMOs, especially in the most affordable areas of our city. HMOs should be spread across cities, not concentrated in certain areas which can have a massive effect on the local community.

Please see below for the full text of Don Foster’s letter to John Healey MP. Read the rest of this entry.

Of course, this year has been dominated by the HMO Consultation. A report on the Consultation should have been published within three months of its ending in August, but it has still not appeared.

Apparently, the response was three times greater than expected – some 900 responses! Hopefully, the majority of these were from local residents, councillors and MPs in favour of changes to the current law and regulations – but landlords and students were also campaigning against these changes. The volume of responses has caused the delay (the government has only one part-time officer dealing with them – Cllr McGall spoke with her before Christmas and she told him that they hope to publish by the end of the year).

Meanwhile, we also have a new Minister for Housing & Planning, John Healey MP, who claims he is not well enough briefed as yet to make any decisions. Below is his reply to a question in the Commons, on 8 December 2009: –

Greg Mulholland (Leeds, North-West) (Lib Dem): Landlord licensing is one solution, but the use classes order is far more significant in many areas with concentrations of HMOs. Will the Minister give me an update on the progress of the Government’s examination of that? Does he agree that restrictions on the number of HMOs in such areas will increase the balance of the community and be in the interests of all?

John Healey: Indeed, and that is why our general policy is to promote mixed communities, as they tend to be better balanced and more stable. The hon. Gentleman asked for an update on our examination of whether changes to the use classes might help us pursue our objectives. At present, we are sifting the 900 or so responses that we have received to the consultation, and I hope to be able to update the House on this shortly.

See http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmhansrd/cm091208/debtext/91208-0002.htm#09120872000021

Several MPs, including our Don Foster, are lobbying the Minister to take action. The danger is that an early election will sabotage all the progress we have made. If you haven’t already done so, it would be invaluable if you could lobby Don Foster, and ask him to put what pressure he can on the Minister to move things along.

Meanwhile, in the hope of a positive outcome in due course – Season’s Greetings to one and all!

We have just writing to all the estate agents and letting agencies in the city about the use of “To Let” boards.

We wrote reflecting many local residents’ general concerns including:

· The large number of signs are unsightly, they feel that most of the people you are marketing to will be looking online for properties in first instance.

· As you mainly market the properties to students, students will use the accommodation lists provided by University.

Please let us know of any road where letting agencies and estate agents are using excessive numbers of “To Let” boards.

There is now less than eight months to save a new generation of young people from huge increases in university tuition fees, according to Liberal Democrat MP for Bath, Don Foster

Don was speaking after the Conservatives suggested they will increase tuition fees to £7,000 if they take power at the next general election, which has to be held by next June.

That will see tuition fees for undergraduates more than double. Currently there is a cap of £3,300 in England and Wales.

Peter Mandelson has already suggested that Labour will allow universities to charge more than at present if re-elected – though the party is too scared to push through the changes it wants before June.

Only the Liberal Democrats will scrap tuition fees. The party believes university education should be free and everyone who has the ability should be able to go – and not be put off by the cost.

Bath MP Don said:

“I look around Bath and I see people return from university with no job and a bank balance tens of thousands of pounds in the red. What sort of message is that?

“Labour and now the Tories are showing their true colours. They don’t care about young people – they just want to saddle them with staggering amounts of debt.

“The choice is clear: the people of Bath can vote for a politician who will condemn a generation of youngsters or for the Liberal Democrats who will make education free again, giving young people the best possible start.”

“A chance to swing the balance towards permanent residents “is how Liberal Democrats in Bath are describing the current government consultation on shared houses.

The government is thinking of changing the rules controlling Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) or shared houses. Currently some HMOs are subject to licensing conditions under the Housing Act 2004; however one of the options now under consideration by the government is a change to the “Use Classes Order” which would allow tighter planning controls over HMOs. The consultation is open till 7th August.

Oldfield Councillors Shaun McGall and Will Sandry have responded to the consultation themselves and have also written to residents in Oldfield – an area with many HMOs – to alert them to this opportunity.

This consultation is a chance to swing the balance towards permanent residents. There’s nothing wrong with HMOs in themselves, but problems can occur when areas become dominated by this type of living arrangement, as has happened in certain parts of Oldfield Park.

It is our view that local residents and Councils should be given the power to control over-concentrations of HMOs through the planning process. I would strongly encourage as many local residents as possible to consider responding to the consultation by August 7th – all the necessary information can be found here on our website.

Don Foster MP commented:

It is high time that the government looked at altering the rules on HMOs. It is quite clear that a heavy concentration of such houses causes certain issues and strains on communities, and currently there is little we can do to protect such communities.

Don hopes that residents living in areas of Bath which are densely populated by HMOs, such as Oldfield Park, will take the time to respond to the government consultation, as he will be. This is not about stopping people living in HMOs, clearly they serve a purpose, but about being able to control how and where they grow and finding a balance for local communities.