HMOs and the law in Weymouth (From Dorset Echo)

HMOs and the law in Weymouth

10:29am Tuesday 9th March 2010 in

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David Whitehead has joined in the discussion on the need for new legislation on HMOs ‘Would you like an HMO next door?’ (Your Say, February 25).

I’m sorry that giving people a reasoned and factual account on these problems leads me and all landlords to be attacked.

Mr Whitehead asks if I would accept people vomiting out of windows, urinating in the street and constant foul language.

No, of course I would not and that is why we have existing laws to deal with these issues.

Just for the avoidance of doubt I do own a property next to an HMO and have on odd occasions dealt with complaints about noise and rubbish.

I have contacted the landlord who has sorted the problems out without me needing to move to local authority action. I also own houses where others have complained about my tenants. I have similarly worked with the tenants to stop problems and reminded them of legislation that can be used by the authorities (not landlords) to enforce good behaviour.

Even more, I volunteered on behalf of Park District Pact and the Landlords Association to approach landlords of properties that were identified by Pact to try to resolve on going problems. Readers may be surprised how short that list was and, while some problems are now resolved, others are ongoing and the local authority are using persuasion and existing legislation to deal with them.

The Labour Government recently announced that they wanted to introduce new legislation to allow a planning authority to limit the number of HMOs. This was to deal with a perceived problem in Leeds of too many students in a particular area.

I leave others to wonder what the government expects a planning authority to do with such legislation when in Leeds they need bedsits for their massive student population and we in Weymouth need bedsits for people under 25 on housing benefit and for many other single people who can not afford to buy or rent anything bigger.

I hope everyone will agree with Mr Whitehead that we want to make our town a better place and agree with me we do not have to wait years for new legislation to make it happen.

Anyone who has a problem neighbour should report them directly to the landlord or if there is not one or that does not resolve the problem, make sure they report the problem to the local authority or the police.

Making generalised complaints about landlords, HMOs and the lack of legislation gets us nowhere.

IAN BRUCE, Preston Road, Weymouth