The Unipol DASH Code

The purpose of the Unipol DASH (Decent and Safe Homes) Code is to enable Owners and Tenants to agree a set of undertakings about how they wish to do business with one another.

The criteria in the Unipol DASH Code have been chosen to reflect a balance of common sense obligations and responsibilities between owners and tenants and set standards which are achievable by owners and tenants without significant expenditure of time and money and without prejudice to their respective legal rights.

Compliance with the Unipol DASH Code will ensure that:

• Both owners and tenants enjoy the benefit of good standards of housing management and practice
• Misunderstandings and disputes are reduced
• Where problems do occur they are promptly resolved

Unipol will ensure that the fact that an owner has agreed to comply with the Unipol DASH Code will be made explicit on property advertisements, which will be given priority within Unipol's letting system and the Unipol DASH Code will be actively promoted amongst students searching for housing. It is the policy of the two Universities and their students' unions in Nottingham to advise their students only to rent a property where the owner has signed the Unipol DASH Code.

Adoption of the Unipol DASH Code by an owner is voluntary. Making a commitment to abide by the Unipol DASH Code is a serious matter and a failure to meet such a commitment is a breach of faith. Unipol tests owners for the purpose of ascertaining compliance with the Unipol DASH Code and tenants can complain where they feel a breach has occurred. Information showing that owners are not complying with the Unipol DASH Code is in the public domain and will remain accessible for three years even if the owners leaves, or is removed from the Unipol DASH Code.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Licensed HMOs

In the case of licensed HMOs, where an HMO licence includes a particular condition that is different to a requirement of the Unipol DASH Code of Standards, then compliance with the HMO licence condition will take precedence.

THIS CODE WILL OPERATE FROM 1st AUGUST 2008 FOR THREE YEARS