Glasgow-based residential letting and property management company Happy Lets has warned of a chronic shortage of student accommodation in Glasgow's West End.

The firm has issued an urgent plea to landlords for more properties to add to its portfolio to keep pace with unprecedented demand from students looking for somewhere to rent in the city.

After their first year at university, students are required to leave university residence accommodation and find somewhere else to live. As of the end of term this month, many students will be scouring the city in search of accommodation in time for the start of the new term in September.

Unfortunately, according to Bobby Sandhu, who runs Happy Lets together with his wife Preet, that search has been made much harder by a significant decline in the number of properties in the West End being approved for an HMO (house in multiple occupation) licence.

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"HMO properties are always in demand from student tenants because it often works out less expensive for them to share a three or four bedroom flat and to pool their financial resources to meet the utility and food costs," he said.

"Unfortunately, recent months have seen a fall in the number of properties being granted an HMO licence, partly because of the cost involved - it costs landlords a whopping £1,800 to apply for a licence on top of any modifications needed to be made to the property to conform to HMO requirements - and partly because of the difficulty in obtaining planning permission to use the property as an HMO."

For properties within the West End Plan, planning is required for four or more unrelated persons to stay in the property and for properties out-with the plan, planning is required for three or more unrelated persons. This has to be sought from a different authority which means that a property can gain HMO licence approval yet still not gain the necessary planning approval.

"It would make much more sense if landlords could gain their HMO licence and planning approval at the same time. Not only would that streamline the whole process and save landlords significant costs, but it would help address the chronic shortage of accommodation currently available to students in Glasgow," he said.

A property is required to have an HMO licence if there are three or more unrelated persons living in the same property. However, Glasgow City Council does not count cousins as relations.

(GK/JM)