Problems Living In, or Near a Student House

It’s not what you really wanted to hear – the person who bought the big house next to you has converted it and is letting it out to a group of noisy, Young Ones-esque students. Of course, you might be lucky and find out that the students over the road from you are only ever up late revising for exams and you hardly hear a peep from them. But with a group of teenagers living away from mummy and daddy for the first time, that’s not likely, and there are bound to be a few teething troubles.

The Law and Student Accommodation

As of April 2010, any residential rented property that is shared by three or more tenants (who aren’t related) has to be specifically licensed as a ‘House of Multiple Occupation’ or HMO.

This should stop landlords from deciding to let the property out to students without telling anybody, as specific planning permission is needed to convert an existing building into an HMO, or to build a new one from scratch. So at least you’ll have a warning and potentially a chance to object. If you suspect that a Landlord Hasn’t Got Planning Permission, of course, it’s your right to alert the appropriate authorities.

These rules aren’t just there to protect neighbourhoods from marauding groups of students, they are also in place to make sure that student homes (and any property likely to be lived in by multiple tenants) have the correct facilities, and comply with all the correct fire, health and safety standards.

Anti-Social Behaviour

It’s not the prerogative of students to engage in anti-social behaviour, but student homes can be noisy, messy and rowdy, so if this is bothering you, you need to know who to contact. Local councils and universities are all attempting to crack down on Anti-Social Behaviour from students, and in some cases badly behaved students can give landlords cause to evict them.

You don’t have to put up with things like noise, loitering groups of people and litter from students parties. They are subject to a letting agreement just like any other tenant, so if you suspect that they may be in breach of the rules, report the offending household to the accommodation officer of the local university.

If a student house is owned by a private landlord, the students will have signed an assured short hold tenancy agreement (AST), which sets out both the tenant and landlord’s obligations to each other. It will also give details of the grounds for eviction, in extreme cases. Anti-social behaviour should also be reported to the police, if it goes beyond the occasional party or gets out of hand. There is no need for anyone to put up with constant noise, abuse, or even violence. If you are subjected to any kind of discriminatory attack, whether verbal, physical, you must also inform the police as well as the university.

Noisy Neighbours

If you are living next door to the student party centre of your town, it can make your life miserable. If a quiet word with the perpetrators gets you nowhere, and the university accommodation office doesn’t appear to be able to solve the problem, you also have the option of getting in touch with the local authority Environmental Health or Noise Pollution team, who will decide if there is Noise Pollution. In a last resort scenario, they can help by confiscating the offending stereos.

Of course, the other way to get your own back on students is to bang doors very loudly first thing in the morning after a party... or get your drill out on a Sunday morning. Sometimes, just a taste of their own inconsiderate medicine might make them appreciate the effects that their noise has on others!