The Unipol Codes

If you are a housing supplier for more details about how to join click here.

Unipol runs three Codes in Bradford to give you confidence in renting from housing suppliers. Unipol always recommends that wherever possible you rent from a Code provider.

The majority of all complaints that Unipol receive about student housing come from the 20% of unaccredited landlords. It really is best to rent from a Code landlord or agent (shown either as green or blue on the website and always listed first).

You can check to see whether your housing supplier has joined the Code here: Shared Student Housing and Larger Developments.

All the Codes aim to ensure that providers go substantially beyond their legal minimum requirements in providing good quality, safe and well managed housing for students. All the Codes have been developed in partnership with, and have the approval of both the university and college and their students' unions. The educational institutions themselves are also members of the Codes and are independently accountable if their performance falls short (as is Unipol as a housing provider).

All the Codes are robustly administered, have tough entry standards and suppliers are checked (or verified) to make sure they meet the standards they say they do.

All the Codes set minimum standards for:

• the physical condition of the building
• the way in which the building has to be managed
• maintaining customer satisfaction and dealing promptly with any repairs or problems

All the Codes have a complaints system that can be used to resolve outstanding matters and, if the housing supplier is in breach of the Code, an independent Tribunal can remove them from the Code and make recommendations to statutory or other bodies.

All of the Codes have a common logo with different by-lines indicating which Code covers which type of property.

The Bradford based Code for shared student houses

The two national codes for larger student developments

Advantages of Renting from a Code Member

All suppliers sign up to specific standards including:

• clearly written, reasonable contractual terms with no catches and no hidden costs, given in advance of signing
• a guarantee of no demands for deposits or rent before signing up
• a guaranteed opportunity to view properties
• a copy of all agreements to be supplied to tenants by the supplier
• accommodation facilities and furniture to meet a set standard of comfortable living and study needs
• a safe energy supply and safe accommodation
• undertaking repair work quickly and efficiently
• transparent procedures, notified in writing to tenants, for issuing receipts, for ending tenancies and for gaining access
• the supplier's commitment to courteous, professional dealings without racism, sexism or other prejudice
• a starred standard for a higher amenity level (see information about the starring system here)
• an accountable framework for dealing with complaints and resolving disputes

The Codes themselves can be accessed below so that you can see what these standards are in detail:

• a Bradford based Code for shared student houses
• two national codes for larger student developments (15 bed spaces or more)

The Bradford Code for Shared Student Housing

A short video gives details about this Code

In order to join the Bradford Code, landlords and agents have to ensure that all of their properties and their management standards and procedures meet the standards in the Code. Whenever you see that the landlord or agent is a member of this Code, this means all of their properties are covered by the Code.

You can check to see whether your housing supplier has joined the Code here.

All Code members are verified and Unipol inspects 1 in 3 houses from each landlord every three years to see that they meet standards. Last year (2011) Unipol inspected over 30 houses making sure that they met the standards (those that do not are reinspected to see that any necessary works or systems have been completed properly or membership is refused). To find out more about the verification process click here.

In order to help students differentiate between Code properties there is a star rating system and up to five stars are awarded depending on amenity levels within the property. Find out more here.

The National Codes for Larger Student Developments

These Codes are run in partnership with the National Union of Students (NUS) and the Accreditation Network UK (ANUK). There are two Codes:

• those where the building is controlled and managed by an educational institution
• those where the building is run by the private sector

The National Codes have their own website where all the information and membership is available.

A short video also outlines what the private providers Code is about.