NEW legislation has been passed placing restrictions on landlords in two wards as the council bids to tackle 'studentification' in the streets surrounding Brunel University.

It is part of a Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMO) crackdown, in response to growing calls from residents to get a grip on the issue.

Residents have for several years felt the expansion of student housing is out of control in the Brunel and Uxbridge South wards, causing tensions and fragmented communities.

Landlords were not required to gain planning permission to convert family houses into student digs, sometimes offering up to six bedrooms in a property.

On Thursday night, councillors voted for measures which will mean planning permission must be sought for any changes of this type. It will not come into effect for another 12 months.

Councillor Keith Burrows, cabinet member for planning, said: "This is not an attack on students in our borough. We do not want to turn students against residents and residents against students.

"I think the areas chosen are quite right. It shows that this council listens to its residents and we act where we are able to act.

"We're not telling the students to move out; we accept them as a boost to our population and economy."

Roads identified by the council as being dominated by student accommodation include Barchester Close, Lodge Close, The Greenway, Derby Road and Hinton Road in the Uxbridge South ward and Bosanquet Close and Peachey Lane in Brunel ward.

Councillor John Major (Lab, Barnhill), sounded a note of caution, stating: "These type of directions have a habit of moving the problem on rather than solving the problem," and Labour leader, councillor Mo Kursheed, said the rules should be applied elsewhere in the borough.

The decision was made in front of 50 students from the university, in Kingston Lane, Uxbridge, who had attended the council meeting as part of their journalism course.

In a statement on Friday, Brunel University said: "We think that in the short-term it may affect available student accommodation, but in the long-term we hope that it will improve their living conditions."

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Factfile:

- Planning permission is not required to convert a house to an HMO housing between three and six occupants.

- In the past year, Hillingdon Council has received applications to convert houses for up to seven tenants.

- Article 4 of the Town and Country Planning Act allows authorities to require planning permission for things that would normally be permitted to an individual regarding their private property. Up to now, converting to an HMO did not require permission.

- The measures have been passed in other university towns and cities, including Exeter and Bath, and is being considered in Leeds, which has one of the largest student populations in the country.

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Timeline:

May 2009: Cowley Community Residents' Association (CCRS) forms, in response to a growing student presence.

October 2010: The Government passes legislation for councils to tackle 'studentification.'

May 2011: CCRA meeting is attended by Councillor Keith Burrows, where the issue of Article 4 was discussed.

November 2011: Hillingdon Council decides in favour of invoking Article 4.

November 2012: New legislation will come into effect.