Properties that once housed students are being restored to their original purpose as family dwellings after owners returned them to Brighton and Hove City Council.

The local authority has repurchased four multi-occupancy dwellings in Bevendean. Three will become standard family residences while one will serve as emergency accommodation.

The Labour deputy leader of the council, Jacob Taylor, and Councillor Gill Williams, the cabinet member responsible for housing, inspected two six-bedroom student residences currently under conversion to four-bedroom family homes.

Councillor Taylor, representing Moulsecoomb and Bevendean, explained that these buildings were originally constructed as council housing during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Their dimensions made them appropriate for families, he noted.

Homes previously sold to occupiers under the right to buy scheme were among 100 properties repurchased by the council since the previous April.

Councillor Taylor expressed that residents generally feel positive and enthusiastic when the council acquires a six-bedroom multi-occupancy property and converts it back to a family dwelling. He noted that this remains one of the few areas that could still offer relatively affordable family housing, with schools nearby to serve the community. Whenever he raises the topic, local residents demonstrate strong support for this approach, he said.

Councillor Taylor mentioned that some multi-occupancy landlords had approached the council expressing interest in selling their properties back.

He observed that student numbers were decreasing and that significant purpose-built student accommodation had been constructed in the city over the past decade. He hoped this represented a favourable opportunity to reclaim some of these buildings and restore them to family use.

Councillor Williams shared that she felt sympathy for the students who had previously occupied these houses, as some of the rooms were rather cramped.

One property contained six bedrooms, with one created from a former cupboard and another from a garage space.

She expressed sadness at how these buildings had been divided up. These were originally family homes and the aim had simply been to accommodate as many students as possible, she said. The shared kitchen and living spaces had appeared rather neglected. She taught students herself and therefore always wished to look after them.

Councillor Williams noted that the council faced a shortage of four-bedroom family homes, so these properties would assist families either on the waiting list or currently in temporary accommodation.

The council has received £9.2 million from the government’s Local Authority Housing Fund to provide an additional 46 homes over the next four years, comprising 28 emergency accommodation units and 18 resettlement properties.