What are the National Codes?

The National Code establish a set of specific standards for larger student developments which have specific management requirements. The Codes reflects their specialist status as an important part of the student accommodation supply.

The purpose of the National Codes is to:

1. establish a framework of voluntary standards to support how member owners, managers and their occupants can do business with one another effectively and fairly; and

2. act in the best interests of students.

The Code standards have been developed to reflect a balance of common-sense obligations and responsibilities between the managers of larger student accommodation buildings and tenants.

The benchmark standards set out in the Codes have been designed so that managers can achieve compliance without significant expenditure of time and money and without prejudice to their respective legal rights.

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.