A hardy annual issue for any town possessing a university or college is the conflict between the local inhabitants and the students. HMOs or Homes in Multiple Occupation shelter many students while they are away from the houses of their parents. The sudden conflict of living styles and relative wealth can breed mutual suspicion with the all-year-around inhabitants. Add the often disinterested landlords and a university caught in a hard spot and you have, with luck, a subject rich for jokes.
Credit is due to the local council for attempting to mediate. I wonder if the absentee landlords will be joining in.