Glasgow residents urge the council to tackle the “overprovision” of student accommodation

Members of the Hillhead Area Partnership had previously raised concerns about the number of HMO (House in Multiple Occupation) licenses being awarded to landlords in their ward.

A report was brought before members of the committee on Tuesday morning detailing the number of HMO licenses approved and rejected by the licensing committee since 2018.

Further concerns were then raised about the demand for HMO properties in the Hillhead and Woodland area compared to the need for them.

Jean Charsley of Hillhead Community Council, said: “The report refers three times to demand – which is without any obvious need.

“In areas where the city continues to have high demand for accommodation, no explanation is offered as to why this demand requires to be satisfied in these areas rather than gently displaced to other areas.

“Students may well wish to live close to the university but there is no need for them to do so except on one or two particular instances, for example disabled students.”

Head of Licensing and Democratic Services, Mairi Millar explained that there was not any really “real” guidance from the Scottish Government when it came to addressing the issue.

She explained: “There is no context in which “over provision” is introduced into the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006. This was plonked into the Act with no real explanation on how it should be applied by the authorities.

“It continues to be an Act that is primarily concerned with the safety of tenants. We have heard from landlords and estate agents that they continue to have waiting lists for accommodation in the West End.

“There is an issue about whether that’s desirability or where they need to live. We do need further statutory guidance and it may be that we need to speak to the Scottish Government about this.”