right to rent
proposed ban on more student flats in the centre of town

The Students' Association has recently responded in local press to planning proposals by Fife Council to limit the number of students living in the centre of St Andrews.

The proposal aims to prevent any more 'HMO' or "House of Multiple Occupancy" licenses being issued in the centre of town (every property with more than three unrelated people living in it requires a license by law). Fife Council cites a number of reasons for introducing such a policy, including:

- the more established community can be "eroded by the more transient nature of occupants who do not have a long term commitment to an area"
- the presence of students and others residing in HMOs increases pressure on parking, traffic movement, drying areas, gardens, pedestrian movement, and noise
- the character of central St Andrews is that of a student community rather than a "mixed and sustainable" community
- demand for HMO property increases house prices, making them unaffordable for local families and first time buyers

We have voiced our opposition to this proposal, as we believe that the proposed HMO ban amounts to nothing more than inept social engineering: wrong in principle, futile (and even harmful) in practice.

We need your help

The formal consultation period for these proposals has now ended, with a final decision to be made in May.

Click here to sign our petition online, showing your opposition to the proposal.

We have outlined our key arguments below, but feel free to make your own. Alternatively, you can download our full response to the consultation here.

Why it won't work

Why HMOs exist: tenant safety
- the HMO license was introduced after a fatal house fire in a student flat in Glasgow in 1999
- the aim of the HMO is to maintain property standards and ensure tenant safety
- we object in principle to Fife Council's attempts to use the HMO license as a means of social engineering, in order to artificially shape the demography of St Andrews

Supply and demand
- the demand for student flats in the centre of town will never decrease (we all want to be close to the library, to our lectures, to Tesco...) and competition is already fierce for central flats
- we believe that this could encourage the most 'unscrupulous' landlords underground, who will simply rent out their properties without an HMO license. These unregulated and unlicensed properties could potentially be unsafe
- this is by no means an imagined threat - since September 2010 we have uncovered 13 unregistered landlords and 6 landlords without HMO licenses in St Andrews alone

Hitting the poorest students the hardest
- if the demand for student property is forced out of the centre of St Andrews and into the outskirts, which Fife Council concedes is a very real possibility: "demand for HMOs may also move to the outskirts of the town and rural areas".
- as a result, increased competition for student housing in the outskirts of St Andrews means that rent prices will increase in these areas
- students who cannot afford the high prices in the centre of town tend to find houses and flats in the outskirts - and this rent increase will inevitably affect them the most
- the cost of living in St Andrews is already much higher than most University towns - the average rent in St Andrews is £80 per week, £20 more than the national average

Affordable Housing
- An HMO limit is not a silver bullet which will suddenly make house prices affordable. The average St Andrews house price is £240,000, a price tag in line with many other beautiful, North East coastal towns (the average in North Berwick is £268,000).
- You would have to shut down the University, the Old Course, both beaches and most shops to overcome the power of the market.

Student Contribution and a Sustainable Community
- students and the University have been here for 600 years, and are an integral part of the 'established community'
- an external consultancy estimated that the Unviersiy generates over £300 million every year for the Scottish economy, and that student spend (on food, drink, clothes etc.) in St Andrews equates to £40 million every year, supporting local businesses and local employment
- we object to the idea that our student community is a 'monoculture': 31% of the student body is from outside the EU
- aside from the financial impact of the student body, many students actively engage with the local community through events and charity work: for example the Student Voluntary Service (SVS) volunteer in local elderly residential homes and primary schools, the Kate Kennedy Club put on their popular annual procession, and our SRC attends Community Council meetings

If you have any questions about this campaign please get in touch with Owen Wilton on pres@st-andrews.ac.uk, or Siena Parker on dorep@st-andrews.ac.uk.