The Unipol Codes

The Unipol Codes

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

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

90% of all complaints that Unipol receive about student housing come from the 30% 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 universities 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.

To find the Code you need simply go to the link for each Code.


the Leeds based Code for shared student houses	the Code Supporter scheme for managing agents that are working towards full accreditation	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 racist, sexist 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:

The Leeds Code for Shared Student Housing

A short video gives details about this Code

In order to join the Leeds 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.

There are now a number of managing agents in Leeds who have full Code status, which means all their student houses meet the standards of the Code. If renting from an agent these agents are strongly recommended and their names can be found here. Unipol also has Supporter status for those agents working towards full Code membership and these agents should be given preference over agents which have not joined any scheme and further details can be found here. (for more details about renting from Managing Agents click here)

All Code members are verified and Unipol inspects 1 in 5 houses from each landlord every three years to see that they meet standards, Last year (2011) Unipol inspected over 950 houses making sure that they met the standards (those that do not are reinspected to see that any necessary works or system 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 one, three or five stars are awarded depending on amenity levels within the property. Find out more here.

The Leeds Code Supporter Scheme

This scheme is for managing agents that are working towards full accreditation but where all of their properties are not yet at Code standard. Supporter members have signed a bilateral arrangement with Unipol that is reviewed annually that means that an increasing number of their properties meet the standards over an agreed period of time. Supporters who constantly meet their targets can then gain full membership.

Managing agents who are Supporters join individual properties to the Code and these should be clearly displayed by them. These properties are fully covered by the Code and all the standards apply and their tenants have access to the complains procedure.

Those properties being managed by agents that are not badged as Unipol Code do not fall under the Code and should be treated no differently as non Code properties.

Generally, for a managing agent to gain Supporter status Unipol has be convinced that this is a reasonable supplier with a fair proportion of their properties joining up to the Unipol Code.

Verification processes for Supporters mean that one in every five properties owned by the same owner within their portfolio is verified. Because managing agents tend to manage many smaller landlords' properties, verification is more rigorous than for those properties which are joined up to the Code.

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.