AQW 6034/17-22

Ms Kellie Armstrong
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 18/08/2020
Answered On Date: 04/09/2020
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Communities (i) how she will ensure the increased number of students attending local universities will have access to appropriate living accommodation; and (ii) whether she could implement a rent cap to ensure students are not charged a rent that is unreasonably higher than rents in the same area during the last year.

Answer:

Students attending universities or colleges live in a range of accommodation including;

Halls of Residence

Purpose built student accommodation

Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs)

The Department for Communities does not have responsibility for the first two types of student living accommodation.

Regarding HMOs, Landlords of this type of accommodation must have a license to operate, and they must meet strict criteria in relation to the standard of the property and satisfy the criteria in relation to being a “fit and proper person” in order to obtain said license. The responsibility for awarding a license is with Councils.

The Department for Communities does not have a legislative power to implement a rent cap for student accommodation.