Code of Standards
The Code of Standards is a mandatory accreditation scheme (with effect from the 2008 registration year) which aims to raise standards in student accommodation in Manchester. By signing up to the Code you are committing to follow good management practice and provide good quality housing. By insisting on adherence to the Code of Standards, we are able to assure students and their parents that property advertised on our site is of good quality, to the very best of our knowledge. This should encourage students to use our service and promote greater exposure for your properties. Code Plus properties receive preferential advertising.
While it is not possible to make a preliminary inspection of each of the thousands of properties whose landlords commit to our Code of Standards, we do aim to inspect 10% of Code registered properties in any one operating year. We do this proactively, or reactively after a tenant complaint. We are inspecting for adherence to the Code of Standards.
Don't be alarmed! These are not 'spot checks' - good practice, the law and respect for you and your tenants do not permit this. Our Housing Officer will invite you, in writing, to work with Manchester Student Homes and your tenants to arrange a mutually convenient appointment. We will work closely with you to resolve any issues arising as the outcome of an inspection. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any queries about inspections.
You can read the Code of Standards here.
Code ComplaintsSometimes, your tenants may feel dissatisfied with the accommodation or service they have been provided with.
This happens more often than you might expect and it is a good idea to employ a certain amount of perspective and to try not to take their complaints personally. For many students, this is the first legally defined contractual relationship they have entered into and we would always encourage them to seek advice from Manchester Student Homes if they are at all concerned about their accommodation or the service provided by their landlord. In many cases, basic advice or reassurance from us is enough to resolve their queries. We may also contact you, on an informal basis, to request clarification and for an informal discussion of the problems your tenants are experiencing.
In some cases, however, students may identify one or more clauses of the Code of Standards that they feel have not been fully adhered to. To maintain the value of the Code and as part of our commitment to raising standards in Manchester, we will continue to take adherence to its terms very seriously, and most complaints of this nature result in a formal Code Complaint, administered by our Housing Officer. This is an open and transparent process, intended to obtain a resolution agreed on by both parties.
The Process:
1. If your tenants feel the requirements of the Code of Standards have not been met, we will ask them to read the Code of Standards carefully and complete a Code Complaint Form, identifying the clauses they feel have not been met.
2. Our Housing Officer will contact you formally, asking you to comment on the student's feedback.
3. You and your tenants may be invited to attend a mediation meeting. This is held in our offices, as a neutral location, and is led by our Housing Officer or one of the management team.
4. If Manchester Student Homes is satisfied that no breach of the Code of Standards has occurred, no further action will be taken. The tenants will have the right to have this decision re-examined by Tribunal.
OR
If a breach has occurred and the Landlord agrees to rectify this within a reasonable time period, no further action will be taken. The tenants will have the right to have this decision re-examined by Tribunal.
5.If the landlord fails to rectify the breach or if a solution was not reached during mediation, we will take one of the following decisions, based on how serious the breach appears to be:
No further action.
Request that the Landlord fulfils the requirements of the Code of Standards in the future (any further breaches may lead to further action).
Suspension from the MSH service for a determined period.
Suspension from the MSH service indefinitely.
Both the tenant and the Landlord will have the right to have the decision re-examined by Tribunal. Where a breach of the Code is considered to be serious enough, we reserve the right to make any decision public.
If you have any queries about the content of the Code of Standards, please contact us to discuss these before declaring your property under the Code.
