Bournemouth council has been criticised by the National Landlord’s Association over changes to its policy over the collection of waste from ‘multiple occupancy’ rented properties.
The policy, which came into effect when the council switched to an alternate weekly collection service from last month (April), states that houses of multiple occupancy (HMOs) with seven or more tenants who require additional collection capacity above the council’s standard allowance should be charged a ‘commercial’ rate for the service.
Bournemouth council has introduced a new policy to charge HMO properties for waste collection
The standard service offered by the council amounts to a 240-litre recycling container collected fortnightly, a 140-litre residual waste container collected fortnightly and a food waste bin collected weekly. Collection of a 240-litre bin costs around £6 per lift, through the council’s commercial waste service.
Commenting on the policy, Stuart Best, Bournemouth’s street services manager, said: “Once an HMO property, paying a single [rate of] council tax, reaches seven person occupancy or more it’s the council’s approach to apply commercial charges to any bins over and above the standard waste allowance. The standard allowance collection is covered by the property’s council tax.
“These larger properties are run as viable businesses by landlords and it is the landlords, not the tenants, who are charged for the additional capacity which must be provided as part of a landlord’s legal obligation under the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006.”
Mr Best stressed that landlords are not obliged to use Bournemouth council’s commercial waste service to collect any waste over their standard allowance – while council guidance also states that residents of HMO properties can take the waste to one of the council’s two HWRCs for disposal. The guidance also suggests that landlords can take the waste to an HWRC, but would require a ‘lower tier’ waste carriers licence to do so.
The council has also confirmed that it had written to landlords at the beginning of April to advise them of the upcoming changes, which started in conjunction with the alternate weekly collection service on 24 April. The council added that it has received some queries from landlords regarding what the entitlements for each property are, but overall there had been very little feedback from landlords.
NLA
However, the policy has come in for criticism from the National Landlord Association (NLA), which released a statement claiming that Bournemouth council’s actions are unfair on the tenants of HMO properties.
Bournemouth council has also highlighted that HMO property tenants or their landlords can take waste to one of its two HWRCs
Richard Lambert, NLA’s chief executive said: “Tenants who already pay council tax should not be charged for services that their local authority is supposed to provide.
“Bournemouth council’s waste policy is not only unfair on tenants, but it also has the potential to cause real problems in the area. If tenants do not (or cannot) pay the additional charge, this may cause a build-up of waste outside of properties, or pressure tenants to dispose of their waste elsewhere.
Mr Lambert added: “As well as having a damaging impact on the environment, tenants may also face prosecution if they fail to dispose of waste properly.”
As a result of the introduction of the policy, NLA has written to councillors in Bournemouth to highlight these concerns, and requested a meeting to discuss a more appropriate and sustainable approach to waste disposal.
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
