Durban - Mushrooming student digs in suburbs which has frustrated several communities who have complained about the noise, overcrowding and criminal elements that unregulated student accommodation has brought will soon be a thing of the past.
The eThekwini Municipality's Economic Development and Planning committee gave the nod to a student accommodation policy that aims to put the brakes on property owners and investors who have found loopholes in the city-bylaws to pack up to 25 students in a house without any consequences.
Marlaine Nair the DA eThekwini Economic Development and Planning Whip said they welcomed the "long overdue student accommodation policy for the city".
She said the policy aimed to improve the decision-making process by which student accommodation applications are evaluated, assessed and finalised.
The policy was also a guide in the ongoing management of the precincts of UKZN Howard and Westville Campuses.
"Due to a large number of students coming into the city from outlying areas seeking safe, suitable accommodation, the demand for accommodation has increased, giving rise to several unsafe, unregulated, illegal student accommodation across the city," Nair said.
"This, in turn, has caused much anxiety and uproar among residents who have had to deal with loud music, drunkenness, traffic obstructions and several other management challenges,"she added.
The policy which will be piloted initially around the Howard College and Westville campuses of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) will eventually be rolled out incrementally to other precincts in the municipal area.
"The need to ensure safe and accessible housing for students with "a home away from home" atmosphere, good public transport, facilities that students would need and also the need for proper management led to the formation of the policy,"Nair said.
In July 2018 Reservoir Hills ratepayers vowed to fight plans to build more student accommodation complexes in the suburb.
Community Police Forum (CPF) member Ray Jeawon told the Daily News that they had looked at the recommendations as far as rezoning is concerned. Residents also had a problem with a student accomodation facility in O’Flaherty Road in Clare Estate and several buildings being overtaken by students in Varsity Drive.
Jeawon said that in the past, pilot projects had been approved without consultation.
In December 2018, Daily News reported how rowdy students, drunken parties, congested streets and ever-increasing numbers of dilapidated buildings were giving Glenwood and Berea residents nightmares as property developers snapped up houses for conversion into student accommodation and hostel-type complexes.
The lack of student accommodation in Durban has seen several wily property developers cash in on this need - much to the ire of suburban residents.
.Nair said the policy's objective is to assist students to be accommodated closer to their respective campuses;provide management tools for the municipality to be able to better facilitate and manage the provision of private-sector student accommodation; ensure that the design of new student accommodation does not degrade the privacy and amenity of abutting residential land uses and respects the existing character of the area; provide appropriate parking for student accommodation and ensure student accommodation embodies principles of good urban design, sustainability, affordability and durability.
"The policy envisages the identification of suitable precincts for student accommodation and thereafter designation of these precincts for this purpose.
Thereafter prospective applicants wanting to setup student accommodation will have to apply and meet the stringent criteria, which includes the assessment of infrastructure and its suitability to support student accommodation, the effects of the influx of people, the availability of facilities nearby and also the impact to the essence of the neighbourhoods," Nair said.
The public will also have an opportunity to lodge objections before an approval is made.
Nair said the owners or students engage in the mismanagement of the accommodation or the flouting of by-laws, they will be held to account and face the possibility of closure.