Have your say on Weymouth's bedsit problems (From Thisisdorset)
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Have your say on Weymouth's bedsit problems
10:30am Sunday 14th March 2010 in
COMMUNITY leaders today urged residents to back a consultation that will help a council decide how it tackles problem bedsits.
Weymouth and Portland Borough Council is asking for views so it can make decisions on how it handles the growing demand for private rented accommodation and regulate houses of multiple occupancy (HMOs).
A draft Private Rented Sector housing policy has been drawn up and the council is now looking to the public to comment on its recommendations.
One of the main aims of the policy is to encourage landlords to provide good quality, well-managed housing.
The deadline for returned questionnaires has just passed but the council has decided to extend it by a week to ensure all views are heard.
Problems linked to HMOs, which include anti-social behaviour and litter, have been one of the main concerns of people living in Weymouth’s Park District where a lot of accommodation has been turned into bedsits.
Dave Burchill has led the area’s Partners and Communities Together (Pact) panel and is intending to stand down as chairman.
He said: “People have been complaining about some of the HMOs for the three years I have been chairman.
“It’s not an issue that can be tackled quickly but we are now starting to see some action.
“Progress has been made with both the council and our MP Jim Knight making real efforts to ease the plight of residents affected by badly run properties.”
The questionnaire focuses on various issues including whether residents would support a local lettings agency to work with private sector landlords. People are also asked if they would back the council taking a more proactive approach to licensing HMOs.
Waterside Weymouth Community Forum chairman Ken Whatley said: “An awful lot of work has been done on this already and it’s up to residents now to share their views.
“The council do have powers but have said they have no funds to enforce them. It’s got to a stage now where authorities have to take action because HMOs are affecting people’s quality of life.”
Copies of the draft policy and the questionnaires are available from the Park Community Centre in Chelmsford Street, the council offices at North Quay and online at www.weymouth.gov.uk Questionnaires must be returned to the council by March 21.
Comments(6)
Octave
says...
2:20pm Sun 14 Mar 10
The quicker property returns to be linked on the ability to pay at 2.5 times income the better...The greed that has come to Weymouth,has created second class citizens out of the people that live here.
Im afraid with poor Estate agent ethics,coupled with Greed of people,Weymouths property market will always suffer...
I feel so, sorry for the young people of Weymouth,they have got no chance what so ever ,of ever owning property here...
macsimus
says...
3:33pm Sun 14 Mar 10
GMax
says...
3:45pm Sun 14 Mar 10
Government's policy on mandatory HMO licensing which came into force across England on 6 April 2006, I know for a fact that there are landlords in Weymouth that still do NOT have an HMO licence.
What happens if a HMO is not licensed?
Licensing is compulsory, and it is therefore a criminal offence to operate without a license, and could lead to the persons deemed to be in control of or managing the HMO prosecuted for non-compliance. The maximum penalty is £20,000 and / or up to 6 months in prison.
Yet there are still no landlords convicted in Weymouth that I am aware of.
The council here should get tough on those that still do not have a HMO licence, not just on problem bedsits or tenants that cause problems.
GMax.
heartfelt
says...
11:30pm Sun 14 Mar 10
What with friends "crashing for a few days"or new partner "chipping in"with the rent the situation is becoming
unmanageable and in need of tougher
regulation.
GMax
says...
12:32pm Mon 15 Mar 10
Besides, ignorance is not an exuse in the eyes of the law.
To give people a good understanding of what an HMO exactly is I did a little bit of research.
What is an HMO?
A house in multiple occupation (HMO) is any building or part of a building such as a house, flat, maisonette, bungalow etc that is occupied by people who do not live as a single household (such as people in a family relationship) and where they share (or lack) one or more basic amenities, such as a toilet, or personal washing and cooking facilities.
Bed-sit accommodation and houses or flats occupied by sharers where there is no family relationship are examples of HMOs.
An HMO can also be a house or building that has been converted into self-contained flats, if the conversion was below the standards set by the Building Regulations 1991 and at least one third of the flats are tenanted.
A purpose-built block of flats is not an HMO (however, an individual flat within it might be if it is let to three or more tenants).
Another example is a converted building where there is a mix of self-contained and non self-contained accommodation.
HMOs that consist solely of self contained units are exempt from mandatory licensing.
The council do not propose to include these properties as part of the new application for additional licensing.
What is a household?
People are to be regarded as not forming a single household unless they are all members of the same family.
Members of the same family include:
married couples or cohabitees who live together as husband and wife
same-sex couples who are in an equivalent relationship
parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces and cousins
half-blood relationships, eg half-brother or half-sister, are treated as full-blood relationships
stepchildren are treated as children
a person is also a relative of another person if one of them is a relative of one member of a couple and the other is a relative of another member of the couple.
So mates crashing on the couch for a week does not qualify for living in an HMO even if they do chip in for paying the rent.
GMax.
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Mabu says...
12:53pm Sun 14 Mar 10
.
If the council persist with using private landlords, they are fuelling the whole problem.