Turning a house into student accommodation

Today I received a letter from a constituent complaining about activities in the adjoining house. Apparently an investor has purchased the house and then installed internal partitions (without Council approval) to convert it into crammed lodgings for a large number of overseas students. The matters complained of include:

• The standard rubbish bin is totally inadequate. It is always overflowing and there is more rubbish piled up around the side of the house even after collection night.
• The gate to the pool is often left wide open in a street where there are young children.
• Shopping trolleys are continually left outside the front of the house.
• There is a noisy party thrown once a week.
• As there is no “living” space in the house anymore. The occupants congregate on the front veranda, laughing and talking loudly until all hours.
• There has also been an increase in traffic and cars obstructing driveways.

This complaint is not uncommon within a kilometre or two of the university. Overseas students would have little understanding of the limits to acceptable behaviour when living in a house on a quarter acre block in suburban Sydney. Following complaints from the resident Council has issued an order for the works (partitions) to be demolished in 30 days which the owner appears to be ignoring. The resident wants Council to be more forthright and make things happen.

Unfortunately the State Government has not given Councils the power to direct the owner or occupants to do anything. If the written "order" is not complied with then the long process of prosecution through the Court has to commence. Even if the Council is successful the judge is likely to be understanding of the plight of the students and give a fairly long period for compliance, at least until after exams.

I sympathise with the plight of the complainant and have urged Council staff to take all reasonable steps to bring this problem to an end.