Council’s ultimatum over student flats

Since our story was published the rooms are no longer available to book online on booking.com or Air BnB, where they were also advertised.

A Kirklees Council spokeswoman said: “The letting of apartments at Kingfisher Court, Manchester Road, is restricted to students enrolled on full time courses within the Kirklees area.

“Any other person occupying the apartments would be contrary to a condition of the planning permission granted for the student accommodation.

“The owner has been advised to comply with the relevant condition.

“We have been in discussion with the letting company with regards to their marketing practices.

“We have advised that any advert needs to make clear that the flats are only available to students, and make sure that they are in a position to evidence that only students are letting the flats for council tax purposes.”

The rooms were advertised at £55 for one night’s stay and it dubbed them ‘Huddersfield Studio Suites.’

Students living there said a number of rooms had been let as hotel rooms since last summer.

At the time the letting agent said all guests were asked to show ID on arrival or they are turned away, but the Examiner understands while people were asked when they turned up, they could write ‘no’ in a visitor book to say they were not students and were still admitted.

The Examiner asked Residential Management Group Ltd, who previously commented, if they wished to comment on the warning from the council. The said they were not the letting agent.

The Examiner contacted companies associated with the building but is yet to receive a response.

It comes months after the Examiner also revealed the cladding on the student flats had not been signed off by Kirklees building control due to issues similar to that of Grenfell Tower, where tragedy struck when a fire started.

At the time the management company said it had been signed off, but it had actually failed post-Grenfell checks.