Students who break the law, disturb their neighbours or fail to look after their homes properly should be shown no leniency, according to a councillor.
Gerry McMullan, chairman of Fife Council’s regulation and licensing committee, urged occupants and owners of student flats in St Andrews to consider their impact on neighbours and the town as a whole.
Responding to a magazine article that apparently implied students could be forgiven for disruptive or neglectful behaviour, Mr McMullan said there was no excuse and urged those who live in, own or manage houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) to help improve the town.
As a university town, St Andrews has a high proportion of HMOs, which are residential properties occupied by three or more people not of the same family. There are regularly complaints from townspeople about the condition of some properties and accusations that absentee landlords are failing to maintain them. There are also issues over the conduct of some occupants, with reports of noise and loud music.
Mr McMullan said, “I am calling on HMO owners, their agents, students, the senior executive staff at St Andrews University and residents to look at the situation in their area, consider carefully the affect they have on others and the historic town and work together to make St Andrews a truly world class area.”
‘World class’, he said, should be a reality not just a marketing phrase.
Mr McMullan said, “It does not matter whether you are a student, professor, solicitor, accountant, property owner or hold any other position within a community, no one has the right to or should expect leniency when it comes to anti-social behaviour, breaking the law or neglecting your civic responsibilities.
“This is unacceptable in any part of Scotland.”
He added, “Some of the anti-social behaviour caused by a small element of people within the St Andrews area would not be tolerated in any other part of Fife, yet because of a person’s status this should be expected? I think not.”
While he accepted most students in St Andrews were well-mannered and law-abiding, Mr McMullan said, “There are some who cause disruption much to the annoyance of other residents. It is this element which provides the negative focus on all those attending St Andrews University.”
Mr McMullan’s committee decides whether licences should be granted for HMOs. At a recent hearing, one objector praised her student neighbours as polite and well-mannered but told the committee she struggled to sleep due to the noise they made in the early hours.
Mr McMullan said, “It’s this lack of responsibility and consideration for others that provides just one of the concerns highlighted by residents. The regulation committee has tackled many issues regarding HMO properties throughout Fife and there is no doubt, despite what Scots law says, there are issues which occur where the committee’s hands are tied in what we can or cannot enforce.”