Alan Whitehead

Labour Party | Southampton Test

HOUSING REVIEW MUST LOOK AT SOUTHAMPTON SAYS WHITEHEAD

Dr Alan Whitehead, Member of Parliament for Southampton Test, has welcomed the government’s announcement that it is to commission an independent review into the private rented housing sector.  The announcement comes on the back of Dr Whitehead raising in Parliament the case of how the increase in private rented Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) is affecting the supply of affordable family housing in Southampton.

The government’s review of the private rented sector will look at:
• How the increasing number of buy to let properties has impacted on the private rented sector;
• The quality of private rented homes; and
• Who the users of the private rented sector are.

Last year Dr Whitehead introduced a 10-minute rule Bill into Parliament calling for local communities to be given a say when a landlord wants to convert a family home into an HMO housing 5 or more people.  Since then he has been holding regular meetings with ministers where he has raised the need for a review into the changing nature of the private rented housing sector.

In 2002, a Council run-review into HMOs in Southampton showed that Southampton had more HMOs than ¾ other local authorities.  The number of constituents that have contacted Dr Whitehead regarding HMO conversions in their area, particularly in Portswood and Freemantle, suggests the overall number of HMOs in the city has increased substantially since that review.

Dr Whitehead said:

“The housing market, both to buy and to rent, is clearly in a very different position today than it was even a few years ago.  So it is excellent news that the government has commissioned this review as a first step to ensuring our housing and planning rules meet the new challenges posed by today’s market.

“The review should look at how to get a better spread of HMOs across an area, rather than allowing a free market in housing to gobble up a particular area with HMO conversions, as can happen at the moment.  I would encourage the review to look at the case of Southampton in particular on this issue.
continues…

“The review also needs to look at how we ensure that more buy-to let investors meet their social responsibilities as landlords, both with regards to ensuring their tenants live in decent conditions, and how they can better deal with problems of anti-social behaviour in their area.”