Student newspaper The Saint reports that the HMO ban was first introduced in 2011, with a review expected to take place in 2013.

That was delayed to June 2016 due to a lack of evidence and that review date has now been pushed back even further.

Council documents show that this was due to questions around the availability of funding for an inquiry and the outstanding need to appoint a consultant.

Cllr Brian Thomson told The Saint he believed the HMO ban in the town centre has “possibly resulted in an increased number of HMOs in other areas of town particularly in areas that used to provide affordable housing to both rent and buy”.

He also blamed “the large number of houses that are bought up by private landlords, to be used as HMOs” as one a primary cause of an affordable housing shortage in the town.