What are the Codes and why do they matter?
The Accreditation Network UK (ANUK)/Unipol Codes of Standards for Large Student Developments are a set of rules that individuals and organisations which undertake the day-to-day management of blocks of student accommodation voluntarily agree to meet.
The Codes set a number of clear benchmark standards which are realistic and achievable by property suppliers and managers, and they are designed specifically to operate in the interest of students.
The standards set reflect established best practice in the sector and are based on what a reasonable student and their parents would expect of a good quality housing supplier.
The standards codify, for both members and consumers, what is reasonable in a given set of circumstances and can be used productively to establish what is reasonable in managing a building.
The standards of the Codes are a combination of
standards established in law
good practice guidelines
procedures to reduce misunderstandings between landlords and tenants
Although membership of the Codes is voluntary, the operators who join them do so because they recognise the benefits of being able to advertise the fact that they are meeting with a set of agreed standards that are common to others within the Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) sector. For them, it matters that they are working within an agreed framework that promotes best practice, a framework that Government has also recognised in England by awarding the Codes ‘Approved’ status.
The Codes matter for students because they offer certain guarantees that their accommodation provider will treat them fairly, provide a good quality of day-to-day management, and will be answerable should they fail to meet the standards via the Codes complaints procedure.