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.
History of The Codes
The Codes were developed in response to concerns raised by a number of organisations, including NUS, about management standards within the expanding new sector of privately owned and managed student accommodation.
Following some initial discussions in 2002, ANUK, NUS and Unipol formed a consortium in 2004 and began to devise a Code for private sector accommodation providers. Discussions were held with a number of private providers, some of whom agreed to become founding members of the Code. These were: Liberty Living; Opal; Unite and Victoria Hall
Meetings were also held with other interested stakeholders, such as ASRA and CUBO, who suggested developing a Code for accommodation managed by universities and colleges as well.
The Codes were formally launched in November 2004, at an event hosted by Universities UK, and the first membership year began in 2005 - with around 50,000 bed spaces covered.
During the passage of what became the 2004 Housing Act, Government expressed some interest in recognising Codes of Practice/Standards within the scope of this legislation. It therefore awarded ‘Approved’ status to both of the ANUK/Unipol Codes in 2006 (and did the same for the Code operated by Universities UK).
By 2007 it had become clear that the ANUK/Unipol Code for Educational Establishments was in need of some revision in order to better reflect the standards that managers of University and College accommodation were aspiring to. A review was carried out and a revised Code received Government approval in August 2008.
Both of these Codes have ‘Approved’ status under Section 233 of the 2004 Housing Act, which requires local housing authorities to “except” (exempt) accommodation operated by Educational Establishments from mandatory HMO Licensing. However, accommodation operated by non- Educational Establishments is not “excepted”.
The above legislation only applies to England, and different requirements exist in Wales and Scotland. However, where a provided has signed-up to the National Codes, their requirements apply to purpose-built student accommodation throughout the whole of the UK.