NUS response to the Government consultation on student halls of residence

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), the Government department responsible for housing policies, consulted NUS on what management standards for student halls in England and Wales (either university-owned or private) should be.

Download response

Background information

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), the Government department responsible for housing policies, is currently consulting on Codes of Standards for halls of residence in England and Wales. The Codes will set up management standards in halls, on aspects such as health and safety, security, repairs, amenities, deposit return, etc. This is part of the consultation process surrounding the Housing Act 2004. The Housing Act received royal assent in November 2004 and will come gradually into force from October 2005 onwards. New licensing requirements for buildings with more than five tenants The Housing Act 2004 sets up new licensing requirements for Housing in Multiple Occupation (HMOs). HMOs are buildings occupied by five or more people, with three of more storeys, comprising two or more households. Many students live in such accommodation.

The Housing Act will require in Autumn 2005 landlords of HMOs to buy a licence. The licence can only be obtained if the landlord can comply to some management standards, regarding for example the management of the house, the condition of the house furniture, amenity standards, requirements to carry out repairs within a specified time, etc).

Exemption of universities halls of residence

Universities halls are exempted from the necessity to obtain a licence, on the basis that universities are ‘fit and proper managers’. NUS contested this strongly, and lobbied for universities NOT to be exempted from HMO licensing.

Under NUS’ pressure, the Government conceded that if universities wanted to be exempt, they should comply to a Code of standards. Although failure to comply with a Code will not be an offence (as failure to comply to HMO licensing requirements would be), the code will provide a benchmark of suitable management practice. Moreover, any university not adopting a code will have to comply to HMO licensing.

Three Codes of standards for halls of residence

Three Codes of standards are currently being consulted on, one by Universities UK (UUK, the universities’ lobby), and two by the Accreditation Network UK (ANUK): one for university-owned halls of residence, the other for private halls such as Unite, Opal, Cosmopolitan, etc . ANUK is a body that acknowledges and encourages good landlords. The UUK Code falls short of NUS’ expectations, for several reasons detailed in the response (see above), our main objections being:

• A student will have to complain to the university itself about the univeristy’s
• There are no uniform standards set by the Code but rather a reliance on local standards;
• The standards will only be checked if ‘significant’ complaints are made by students; the standards will not be checked pro-actively at the point of joining the Code;
• The complaints and dispute resolution system does not involve the local students’ union.

The ANUK Codes, on the contrary, are very satisfactory and both guarantee high standards in either university-owned or private halls of residence.

The text of the Codes and the ODPM consultation document can be found at: www.opdm.gov.uk

If you need more information on the Codes or the Housing Act 2004 in general, or if you want to share your comments with us, please e-mail NUS Research and Policy Officer (student welfare): agnes.gautier@nus.org.uk