The most obvious reason for choosing to live in a development covered by one of the ANUK/Unipol National Codes is that they provide reassurance: Reassurance that the accommodation is safe and well managed; and reassurance that, should any problems arise, there exists a mechanism to help get them resolved.

Members of the Codes voluntarily agree to comply with benchmark standards that relate to both the physical condition of a building as well as its day to day management. This means that, amongst other things, students living within a building covered by the Codes can expect:

• Buildings that meet or exceed the local authorities fire safety requirements
• Sufficient bathroom and kitchen facilities
• All repairs to be completed within agreed timescales
• Advanced notification if managers need to access rooms and/or flats to undertake routine inspections or planned maintenance
• Managers of buildings to act in a professional and courteous manner at all times.

In some cases first year students won’t have an option to live in anything but a development that is covered by one of these Codes, either because the accommodation is managed and controlled by the educational establishment they are attending OR because the room has been procured from a private provider as part of a deal with that educational establishment.