WHEN someone speaks who has as much housing experience as Mike Stimpson from the Southern Landlords Association we would be wise to listen.

Few individuals have such in-depth knowledge and he is one of the few landlords who will still accommodate people on the lowest incomes.

In his letter of April 13 he warns that a consequence of the enforcement of regulations relating to houses in multiple occupation will lead to more people becoming street homeless.

We should all sit up and listen.

Regardless of what one might think of housing being provided through private landlords, the reality is that almost four times as many homes are let in this way compared to those provided by the city council and housing associations.

With spiralling house prices, fewer local people will be able to buy in the years ahead.

We must work with private landlords to make sure housing need in the city is being met.

At the same time Councillor Tracey Hill is attempting to ensure that family homes for rent are not lost.

She rightly wants to avoid whole areas becoming blighted by “studentification” with small family homes being turned into accommodation for six or seven students.

Her efforts in this regard are to be applauded and should be seen as a challenge to our two universities where not enough accommodation is provided to house the ever-increasing student population in the city.

Whether we can reverse what already has happened is unlikely.

If there is an issue of a lack of basic amenities, fire risks and overcrowding, then enforcement action should be taken.

Enforcement is right in some cases but not in cases where there is co-operation by the landlords and where standards are marginally below what we would ideally like.

This week I heard of enforcement action being against a property that has been let as four bedsits since the early 1960s.

I don’t know the property myself but the provision of such accommodation is essential for someone’s housing journey.

I myself once rented a property which falls beneath current minimum space requirements but small though it was, it was my home and I was happy there.

The simplest way to avoid council houses for families being lost and becoming houses in multiple occupation is by ending the right to buy and not extending it even further to housing association homes.

One in four, and some studies suggest one in three, former council homes are now in the private rented sector charging rents four times greater than the previous council rents. How many of these homes in Brighton and Hove are now let to students?

Shared housing is all that is affordable for many and the only form of accommodation for which those under 35 can claim housing benefit.

I am a harsh critic of Government housing policy but while it remains as it is we need to ensure that there is a balanced provision of homes.

We need to get this right and the city council could do worse than having a very early meeting with Mike Stimpson to find a way forward.

Andy Winter, Chief Executive, Brighton Housing Trust