The meeting will discuss housing issues in the area. Representatives of letting agents, private student landlords, DeMontfort University Students Union and the City Council have been invited to attend the meeting.
Minutes:
Councillor Russell reminded those present that a wide range of issues had been considered at the last Joint Castle and Westcotes Community Meeting, one of which had been the upkeep of properties owned by landlords. Some properties had been kept well, but others had not and, in respect of the latter, it could be difficult to make contact with the landlords. As such, the Council wanted to know what problems were being encountered in relation to this, so that the Council could work with landlords to find suitable solutions to problems identified.
One resident reported that it appeared that, in Hazel Street, when a house became vacant, students were moved in, but always keeping the number below 4, so that a licence for a house in multiple occupation was not needed. The effect was that the area had degenerated and was a “ghost town” in the summer.
Rental properties often were repaired in the cheapest way possible and this work often looked very cheap. The quality of repairs also could affect who bought a property when it was sold on, as work done often was not appropriate to families, (for example if front gardens had been concreted over). This led to areas slowly decaying.
The Council was commended for its work on clearing rubbish and the City Wardens were congratulated on the work they did to keep areas in good condition, but landlords did not appear to have the same interest in maintaining good standards in the area. For example, they had been known to leave mattresses and sofas at the front of properties.
One example of the problems experienced was that wheeled refuse bins often were left out on the street and the City Wardens did not have the resources to deal with all of the problems being encountered. It was suggested that one reason for this could be that landlords cleared out literature from properties, so students were not aware that they should be taking bins off the pavement. The meeting felt that landlords appeared to be getting away with creating this sort of situation, but should be held responsible for ensuring that their tenants were informed of the requirements.
Councillor Russell advised the meeting that one thing the Council wanted to introduce for the next academic year was a requirement for landlords and letting agents to display a sign in each property telling tenants the basic levels of behaviour expected of them, (for example, that wheeled rubbish bins should not be left on the street and what items could be put in the green recycling boxes).
The following points also were made during discussion on this:-
§ Residents felt like they did not matter to the Council, as students always appeared to be put first. In other parts of the country there were some good examples of how local authorities, universities and residents had worked together to overcome similar situations;
§ Legislation on the number of people who could share a property before a licence was needed was ambiguous:
§ Was there any way in which landlords could be encouraged to take responsibility for the appearance of the area in which their properties were located, for example, through using better quality materials to renovate houses?;
§ Residents could find it intimidating to have a large number of people living in one house;
§ Some universities ran an introduce yourself to your neighbour scheme, which could be very successful in breaking down barriers between students and the local community;
§ Local residents also should make an effort to introduce themselves to their neighbours, as this could help students to feel part of the community;
§ At certain times of the year, roads could have many “To Let” signs along them, which detracted from the appearance of the area;
§ Employing wardens to walk round the worst affected areas from approximately midnight to 4.00 am at weekends could help to reduce anti-social behaviour;
§ Not all properties in multiple occupation housed students. Some accommodated people such as migrant workers who were new to the country and so were not aware of the rules and laws by which they were expected to live; and
§ Although various problems were being identified, the community did not want students to feel that the community was against them living there.
The Student Accommodation Officer from De Montfort University advised the meeting that information was sent to students, encouraging them to respect the communities in which they were living, providing them with information such as when refuse bins should be put out and telling them to ensure that items such as mattresses were not left outside a property.
Information also was sent to landlords, advising them how they could show respect to the local community, and similar letters were sent to landlords to pass on to students. However, some students did not use landlords, which made them harder to reach, but information also was provided through electronic networking sites.
The University spent a lot of time working with the City Council and the Students Union to find ways to improve the situation. However, it was recognised that a small minority would ignore the information and advice provided and their poor behaviour could result in all students being categorised in the same way.
Many residents felt that many students showed a general disrespect for the area, particularly at night time, (for example, kicking over refuse bins and talking loudly in the street, when sound carried easily). It was recognised that students were not the only people who participated in anti-social behaviour and that many of the problems experienced continued in the summer months, when most students had left the area.
Representatives of the Leicester Electricity Sports and Social Club in Brazil Street reported that the premises always experienced an increase in vandalism and pranks at the start of the academic year. however, the Club had a good relationship with De Montfort University and was able to identify students who caused these problems. The Club did not want to create bad relationships, as it wanted to encourage students to use its facilities.
The Director of Student Services for De Montfort University advised the meeting that the University could not give out personal details of where individual students lived, but very much welcomed suggestions for positive ways of working with students and the community to improve relationships.
The University also wanted to be told of complaints and concerns, so that they could be investigated and when it was made aware of a problem, it would intervene where it could. For example, over the last few years it had worked with specific students when problems had been identified and had found that the students often were unaware that there was a problem. On most occasions, students responded well when advised that their behaviour was causing a problem, but it was recognised that there were those who would not respond in this way. The University also worked closely with the Police and other agencies, so there could be other powers that could be used if a particular student, or students, continued to cause problems.
The Student Accommodation Officer from De Montfort University advised the meeting that, to help students settle in to Leicester, a new initiative had started this year. Groups of second and third year students had formed the Welcome Crew and had visited every rented property in the first two weeks of the academic year, to see how new students were settling in. The University’s Pastor also had visited many properties. It was hoped that this would help to identify any issues before they became problems. In addition, every year a letter was sent to students recommending that they introduced themselves to their neighbours.
If any residents were experiencing problems with students in their area, they were invited to contact the University’s Welfare Officer at the Students Union. The Welfare Officer could speak to the students concerned if the residents were concerned about speaking to them themselves.
The residents present emphasised that they were not against students and recognised that a lot of the permanent residents in the area were of a different generation to the students. However, this meant that, in some roads, there were very few families left and it felt like the area was dying. Ways of encouraging a better mix of people therefore needed to be found. This would make the community more stable and so encourage people to move in to the area.
The meeting considered whether more purpose built student accommodation would help to resolve the issues being discussed, but it was difficult to envisage where provision on the scale that would be needed could be made.
It was suggested that some of the money in Ward Community Budgets could be used to host a community event at the start of the academic year to welcome new arrivals to the area. This would have the additional benefit of enabling permanent residents to meet their neighbours.
AGREED:
1) that consideration be given to holding a community event at the start of the academic year to welcome new arrivals to the area, with funding for the event being provided at least in part from Ward Community Budgets;
2) that, wherever possible, landlords be encouraged to:-
a) take responsibility for repairs and the general upkeep of their properties;
b) use reasonable quality materials when carrying out repairs and refurbishments to t heir properties; and
c) dispose of rubbish from their properties appropriately;
3) that liaison between De Montfort University, Leicester City Council and local residents be improved, residents being informed of who they can contact regarding concerns about, or problems with, student behaviour;
4) that residents should take on a responsibility to introduce themselves to student neighbours, as well as students being encouraged to introduce themselves to their neighbours; and
5) that any other ideas for how housing issues in the area can be approached be passed to the City Council and/or De Montfort University.