A CITY councillor is pushing for changes to York's rules on shared houses, after hundreds of purpose built student flats and rooms have sprung up in the city.

Cllr Mark Warters, who represents Osbaldwick, wants to see the "thresholds" for how many houses can be converted in Homes in Multiple Occupancy (HMOs) lowered.

With several large student developments either ready, under construction, or in early planning stages, Cllr Warters said the amount of regular family homes used by students should be falling and he has asked the council to look again at rules which say ten per cent of houses on a street and 20 per cent in a neighbourhood can be made into HMOs.

He has called on council executive member Nigel Ayre, who chairs a key committee, to have a supplementary planning document (SPD) on the numbers reviewed. Cllr Warters said: "I believe in the light of the huge increase in off campus private, dedicated student accommodation blocks in Hull Rd, Lawrence St, Walmgate and Navigation Rd that a perfectly reasonable and defendable case can be made for reducing the acceptability thresholds in the SPD by half."

Without action, streets in his Osbaldwick ward will soon become like areas of Badger Hill and Lawrence Street where there are heavy concentrations of HMOs, Cllr Warters added.

But his calls have so far been unsuccessful, with Cllr Ayre and planning staff arguing that, after extensive consultations in 2012, there is no need for the rules to be overhauled.

Cllr Ayre said: “HMOs have a role in providing accommodation not only to students but also to young professional and low-income households. However, we need to ensure that we get the right balance of housing in York and prevent new large concentrations of HMOs forming.

“Overall HMOs currently make-up around three per cent of York’s overall housing stock and permission is needed before a family home can be turned into an HMO. Officers say that there is insufficient evidence to suggest the current policy is not fit for purpose and a further review will delay the Local Plan process by at least six months.

"However, I am sure the executive member for transport and planning will be happy to talk to Cllr Warters about individual local issues and look at areas such as Hull Road and Fishergate where HMOs numbers are currently high."

The new Conservative- Lib Dem council wants to work with York’s two universities to encourage on-campus student accommodation, he added.