A new review aimed at improving the management and conditions of people living in Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) was launched by Housing and Planning Minister Caroline Flint.
Concerns have been raised about the so called 'studentification' of university towns with over concentrations of HMOs. Despite the clear economic benefits of students, their dramatic growth in recent years (now almost 2.5 million) has seen housing problems increase in some towns.
Towns and cities including Nottingham, Southampton, Loughborough and Bristol have reported more empty properties during the summer - meaning shops, businesses and pubs simply close down, creating 'ghost towns'.
An over concentration of houses of multiple occupation in one area can have a negative impact on the neighbourhood and local public services. Student turnover is typically high, 52% in Leeds for example, which can affect the sense of community as increasingly student landlords opt to concentrate properties ever closer together in university towns.
Universities are already looking at ways to improve the situation. Many have invested heavily in new student halls, created community relations officers and Loughborough University now requires their students to sign a code of conduct.
Students typically want to rent shared housing. New government rules mean they should be properly licensed to guarantee minimum living conditions and management standards.
A new survey on private landlords finds the licensing system is working well - over three quarters of landlords that let Houses in Multiple Occupation have now applied for licences.
This new review will identify what more the planning system can do to create more effective management of HMOs for all tenants. It will feed into the Private Rented Sector review announced in January, which is already looking into standards of accommodation and the rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants.
New statistics show that nearly £900 million of tenants' deposits has been safeguarded under the Tenancy Deposit Protection scheme in its first year.
The figures also reveal that one million deposits have been protected at a rate of more than 2,500 a day since the scheme started in April 2007. At the current rate, £1 billion will be safeguarded in the next six weeks.
Under the rules, landlords and agents have a legal duty to sign up to one of three Government-backed schemes when they take a deposit for a new assured short-hold tenancy.
There are 1.7 million assured short-hold tenancies, to which tenancy deposit protection applies, accounting for just under one in twelve of all households in England (2005/06).
Landlords not protecting a deposit taken since 6 April 2007 are committing a civil offence, which could lead to them having to pay tenants three times the value of the deposit and forfeit their right to possession of their property.
The level of disputes has been encouragingly low with only 458 adjudications so far.
