Dundee students are being made scapegoats by local residents who “feel the need to complain” about their neighbours, it has been claimed.
Solicitors and councillors have had to jump to the defence of students living in multiple occupancy housing after a raft of complaints from neighbours.
The move follows a letter of objection lodged against an HMO application which went before the city’s licensing committee on Thursday.
The flat, at 378 Perth Road, has been an HMO for more than 10 years and was simply transferred from a company to a named individual.
Listing noise complaints and accusations of criminal activity, the objector also claims HMO properties will decrease the value of surrounding homes.
Under advice from the police and council, it was revealed the complainant lived several hundred metres away and so could not be bothered by any noise from the property, and that police had received no complaints of criminality at the property.
It was revealed that the number of HMOs in this area is, in fact, less than the provision allocated by the city council.
The letter was described as “very generic, rather than addressing any issues” by chairman of the licensing committee Councillor Stewart Hunter.
Shazad Latif, who was applying for the licence on the property, said: “We have never had any issues brought to our attention.
“This is a general letter against HMOs, not this specific property.
“If there is a complaint we will enforce action.
“Even non-HMO properties operated by us are dealt with this way, all the neighbours have contacts and we liaise with them. Students contribute to our city, the west end businesses are dead in the summer; the west end survives because of students.”
Councillor Tom Ferguson echoed the landlord’s comments.
He said: “Those comments are general, there is nothing in them.
“Students are part of our city, part of our life.”
Janet Hood, a solicitor working in Dundee, said: “It’s terribly unfortunate some people feel the need to complain despite the fact that they patently have no evidence.
“I would expect that the council licensing committee will ignore those comments. Some people tend to object because they imagine there will be problems, even if they haven’t observed any, we see that with all sorts of licences.
“There can be a general feeling, particularly among some older people that students are a bad thing.
“They forget they may have been students at one point.”
Previously, landlords and solicitors have claimed students and HMO properties are made scapegoats, with any problems in the area being blamed on the student population.
The licensing committee also passed another controversial licence on Albert Street which had received seven complaints from residents.
The committee heard that, after applicant Grant Property Solutions addressed concerns, objectors stated they were more reassured and satisfied with the application.
Councillor Jimmy Black said: “I think it’s better to have letting agents than buy-to-let properties who come in and cause chaos.
“Some of them don’t comply with the law, others can be a real pain in the neck.
“I’d rather have HMOs than fly-by-night landlords.”
The Albert Street HMO was approved, but will be called back in April to check that the licence was being properly taken care of by residents and Grant Property Solutions.