Managers will ensure that:
3.00 All property details are reported accurately without misrepresentation to prospective occupants, including details provided in prospectuses, brochures and on websites;
3.01 An appropriate mechanism is in place to update such publicity material in a timely manner, should details of specific properties change;
3.02 All prospective occupants are informed about any contractual terms under which the property is offered, including those relating to any fees payable in addition to rent, such as utility charges, deposits, insurance, web or telephone costs;
3.03 The occupancy agreement should include a reference to the fact that the educational establishment is a member of this Code;
3.04 All occupants are given a written copy of their occupancy agreement at the time they sign or at the time they pay advance rent, holding deposit or deposit. For occupancy agreements entered into on-line, students should be able to download the full terms and conditions of the agreement at the time they make the application. Members must make this facility clear to students up-front. If a student asks in writing for a paper copy of an agreement, the educational establishment must send one within five working days;
3.05 Occupancy agreements do not contain any unfair terms as defined in Part 2 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, including academic sanctions due to an accommodation-related debt, and should comply with the Tenant Fees Act 2019.
Rent Liability
Managers will ensure that:
3.06 Prospective occupants are issued with a clear statement of the rent due to be paid, including the dates, amounts and methods of payments due to be made during the term of the occupancy agreement;
3.07 Prospective occupants are issued with receipts for all monies received, whether in payment for rent, deposit, utility or service charges.
Accommodation Guarantees and Location of Alternative Accommodation
3.08 They have in place contingency plans to address situations where they are unable to deliver on any accommodation guarantees made to students and that, in such circumstances, they ensure that affected students are made aware of this at the earliest opportunity, along with being provided with assistance to secure suitable alternative accommodation;
3.09 Where the location of the alternative accommodation requires the students to incur additional public transport costs to get to their place of study, then they will:
Reimburse these resulting costs from the accommodation, unless transport is being provided for free;
Ensure that the students have access to student support services and relevant information;
Make payments to all affected students on the same basis as in clause 3.32 of this Code;
Notify their students’ union of the fact that alternative accommodation is being provided and where it is located.
Contact Details
Managers will ensure that:
3.10 The educational establishment’s membership of this Code is clearly communicated to all occupants by the display of a standard notice within the building, or a central reception area, and by displaying the Code logo on the establishment’s accommodation website(s) (in accordance with the Provision of Services Regulations 2009 – https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2009/9780111486276/contents;
3.11 The systems in place to ensure occupants’ security, student care and general student welfare are clearly defined, communicated to occupants and regularly tested to ensure that they operate effectively;
3.12 These systems ensure that the names and contact details of all staff involved in the management of the building (and the wider residential development, if appropriate) are provided to occupants at the commencement of their occupancy, clearly specifying the times they will be available and their responsibilities. Occupants will be informed when any relevant changes occur to the role of staff;
Staff and Student Care
Managers will ensure that:
3.13 An appropriate residential presence is provided in any residential development which houses in excess of 150 students (where the residential development is larger there is a minimum of 1 residential presence for every 250 student occupants) and the purpose of this residential presence is made clear to occupants living within the building;
3.14 Staff providing such a residential presence clearly understand their role and responsibilities and receive an appropriate level of structured and pre-planned training prior to commencing their duties;
3.15 The content of the training has been developed following an analysis of the training needs of staff providing the residential presence and the educational establishment can demonstrate the effectiveness of the training that has been provided;
3.16 Such staff are also provided with the names and contact details of additional support so that they can be called upon in the event of an emergency.
Wired Network Connection and/or Wi-Fi Provision
Managers will ensure that:
3.17 In marketing (and in in-occupancy information), Members shall make clear for the benefit of occupants and prospective occupants:
Whether Wi-Fi is included in the rent or at an additional cost;
Exactly what sort of provision is being made available to users, especially where the ‘free’ elements cover only a base service and a charge is made for enhancement of this;
Details of where within and around the development Wi-Fi coverage is available;
3.18 Where the Wi-Fi network has a limit on the number of different wireless devices that can be registered on the network, this should be made clear in all relevant information and marketing materials;
3.19 Where a numerical speed claim for broadband service is made, it should be possible to demonstrate that the speed (which should be described as an ‘average’) is achievable for at least 50% of the relevant customer base at peak time (defined by Ofcom as between 8-10pm). The Member must state in terms easily understood by occupants the likelihood of the broadband service not being able to meet their service expectations. Speed checking facilities, for example those provided on internet service provider (ISPs) websites, should be promoted in adverts whenever possible.
State of Repair
Managers will ensure that:
3.20 There is a system in place which clearly informs occupants of the contents of the property and the state of repair of fixtures and fittings at the time their occupancy starts;
3.21 The system provides a method for occupants to identify and report contents, fixtures and fittings that they believe are either missing or in a poor state of repair;
3.22 The system also defines the method for making any deductions from deposits for items that are found to be damaged or missing from the room at the end of the occupancy.
Late Construction: Managing the Problem and Communicating with Students
Managers will ensure that:
3.23 The educational establishment abides by the requirements of the New and refurbished buildings protocol (Appendix Viii to this Code), where:
a building is new, or undergoing refurbishment and the building programme is running late; and
this may result in pre-let rooms not being ready for occupancy.
In these circumstances, the educational establishment is specifically responsible for:
informing future occupants about:
any delay or inconvenience they may experience;
who in particular they can contact to get further help and information from;
notifying the NCA of the position within one day of the occupants having been informed;
informing the NCA within the same timescale what action they have planned;
contacting any other relevant parties to outline what action they are taking within not longer than two working days after they have notified the NCA; and
reflecting any delay or temporary loss of amenity in any subsequent marketing material;
3.24 If a room is not ready for occupation on the date that the occupancy agreement begins, the educational establishment shall provide suitable alternative accommodation in an adjacent building or, in any event, in a building within half a mile of the original development;
3.25 Where it is not possible to provide the alternative room in line with 3.24 above, the educational establishment shall endeavour to source this provision through other suppliers within:
the same local housing authority area; or
a 20-minute walk of the student’s main study location. Where this is not possible, the Member should contact the NCA immediately for further advice;
3.26 Where rooms are not ready for occupation the educational establishment will:
give the affected students seven days to decide whether they want to leave the contract. This notification will be in writing and the seven day period commences from the date that the student is informed that the relevant room is not ready for occupation on the planned date.
not impose any financial penalty for cancellation on students who do decide to opt out;
3.27 When students choose to leave their contract (this would include entering into another contract for substitute accommodation) then the educational establishment’s obligations will cease on that day;
3.28 Where rooms are not ready for occupation and the student chooses to wait to occupy their room, the educational establishment will:
charge no rent for any period the room is unavailable and will only start billing students once they have moved in;
where a student occupies a substitute room, may charge them an appropriate rent as long as the rent for the substitute room is not higher than the original rent;
if the substitute room does not give access to appropriate self-catering facilities, will ensure the provision of appropriate meals that does not cost the occupant more than they would be paying under the original agreement;
if a student spends more than seven days in the substitute accommodation, and no laundry facilities are provided, will pay any laundry costs that the student incurs;
when an occupant transfers from the substitute room to the completed development, the educational establishment will either:
provide an appropriate service to move all the occupant’s belongings; or
reimburse the occupant for appropriate removal costs;
reimburse an occupant, in full, for reasonable additional out-of-pocket expenses that they incur as a direct result of taking up the substitute accommodation (for example, travel costs in excess of what they would in any case have had to pay against submitted invoices);
where the occupant’s original offer included access to Wi-Fi, shall ensure the supply of a similar service at the alternative accommodation, free of charge; and
where rooms are being affected by delays, the educational establishment will notify all relevant educational establishments and their students’ unions at the earliest opportunity;
3.29 Where a building is under defects procedures and building work needs to be carried out, the educational establishment shall inform occupants about the timescale for any works affecting them. The educational establishment will also provide the occupants the name, email address and phone number of a responsible person they can contact for any further information or in the event of any difficulties caused;
3.30 The educational establishment shall provide the NCA with copies of relevant correspondence sent to students in connection with their room being late;
3.31 If a student is unable to occupy the room that they reserved eight weeks after the beginning of the academic year, then the educational establishment will not charge them rent (including for temporary substitute accommodation) until they are able to occupy the room that they reserved. Students will also be given a further opportunity to leave their occupancy agreement with no financial penalty for cancellation (when 3.26 will apply);
3.32 From 1 September 2024, where a student’s occupancy agreement is continuing the educational establishment will make the following payments per student in the circumstances described below:
£200 for the initial inconvenience of not being able to occupy their chosen room (applicable even if the student leaves the contract);
£200 per week for the second to the fourth week that a room is late
£500 for each subsequent four weeks (pro-rata in respect of part weeks) that a room is late after that; and
£100 each time a notified moving-in date is postponed