Date Posted: 16th September 2025

With changes to the private sector as a result of the Renters Rights Bill imminent, the National Code for Non-Educational Establishments has undergone an interim review with a number if changes proposed. The changes are still in draft form, and are yet to be approved by the Government, so are not current standards.

This update is therefore provided for information only for current members and those interested in applying. 

An update will be provided when the new standards are ready to launch.

Overview of Proposed Changes

1. Changes to membership information, criteria and processes

• In the ‘General’ section, clause 1.5 states that “members must have control of the whole building under management which must be solely or principally occupied by students”

This change underscores the membership criteria for the Code, confirming that buildings must be housing students and thereby excludes BTR or other co-living schemes from membership.

• At clause 1.8 members are required to provide the company name and number for the owners of each building;

This will enable the Codes administrators to track changes of ownership more easily as this becomes a more regular occurrence with portfolios changing hands more regularly, and identify where there may be patterns of compliance issues. 

• Complaints and Disputes (Section 9) has been completely re-written and now includes reference to the powers of the Codes Complaints Investigator, the Audit Panel and the Tribunal;

As membership becomes more significant for Members linked to its implications for tenure, further clarity was required in this section to ensure transparency of process and decision making.

• A new annex to the Code (Annex 2) has been added which deals with both membership matters (such as new applications, and provisions for applicants who can demonstrate a good track record of compliance) and the process for suspending/expelling them from the Code.

As above, this includes more detailed information for new applicants on exactly how membership is achieved, including the creation of a new process for new operators who can demonstrate a good track record. It also clarifies arrangement of existing members if buildings join a portfolio.

2. Property Standards and Health and Safety

• A new clause has been added into Section 3 (Before Occupants Move in) requiring members to adhere to the Government’s Code of Practice for the remediation of residential buildings, specifically with respect to the impact such works may have on occupants;

Reference is made to the Government guidance. The Code had consulted on making reference to compensation payments related to remediation, but this option has not been taken forward at this time as compensation is not a straightforward. 

• A new clause (4.19) requires members to comply with guidance from Government with respect to damp and mould;

This highlights the recent Government guidance. A further proposal was included in the consultation on introducing timescales for responding to reports of damp and mould, and these proposals will not be taken forward at this time. This matter will be reconsidered at the new review, when more will be known about Awaab’s Law.

• Minor changes have been made to the Health and Safety section of the Code, specifically the “The Building Safety Act 2022” (clauses 6.29 to 6.30), which sets a requirement for members to comply with the provisions of the act;

Some detail has been removed from this section as this is a rapidly-evolving area of regulation and some prior detail had become unhelpful. This area will be reconsidered at the next Code review.

3. Tenancy Matters

New clauses and a new sub-section have been added into Section 4 (During the Occupancy).

• One of the new clauses (4.6) sets out a requirement for members to permit occupants to end an agreement by giving four weeks’ notice in given circumstances including if they are not accepted into their institution, on withdrawal or if they suspend their studies due to ill-health. The student is required to provide sufficient evidence at the time of giving notice.

This measure will enable students to give notice if their personal circumstances change significantly and they leave their institution, and strikes a fair balance between the proposed flexibility that students living in the wider private rented sector will benefit from under the RRB, and the needs of the sector to have predictability of income. By requiring students to provide evidence at the point they give notice, this also means that uncertainty is avoided and arrangements put in place for re-marketing the room.

• New sub section (clauses 4.7 – 4.10) is entitled “Death of an occupant or future occupant” and sets standards for how members deal with such circumstances, including an end to rental obligations on the date of death for any guarantor

This mirrors amendments made to the RRB and ensures parity of treatment for students living in National Code accommodation.

• Section 8 of the Code, which covers deposits, includes alterations to a number of its clauses, specifically in order to ensure students living within the PBSA sector have similar rights to students living elsewhere in the private rented sector, meaning where deposits are taken they must still be protected;

In being exempted from the assured tenancy regime, members would have fallen outside of existing tenancy deposit protection arrangements, and this clause requires members to continue to protect deposits where they are taken, affording students in Member accommodation the same protections. Following responses in the Consultation, organisations will be excepted from this is they are specified under paragraph 8 Schedule 1 to the Housing Act 1988 Lettings to Students and listed in Appendix 1and 2 of the Assured and Projected Tenancies (Letting to Students) Regulations 1998.

4. Membership Process Changes

Existing processes have been clarified and new procedures added, including a new means of applying for Members with an Established Track Record. Processes for suspension and exclusion are clarified.

Next Steps and Timescales

The draft standards are currently being considered by Government. It is the current understanding that the ‘approved’ Code will become operational at the point when the Renters’ Rights legislation is enacted, after an implementation period. Progress on the passage of the Bill through Parliament can be checked on the Government website.