Codes of Practice

What is it?

This is a quality initiative launched by Liverpool Student Homes in March 1997 to enable Liverpool's student landlords and tenants to agree a set of undertakings about the way they choose to do business with one another.

It has been developed through consultation between Liverpool Landlords, Students Unions, City Council and the Universities. It is not a legal document although it does mirror existing legislation and the Local Authority's minimum standards. Initially a voluntary initiative, in 2004 it became compulsory for all landlords registered with LSH to sign up to the Code of Practice. The Code of Practice for Liverpool Student Landlords (click here to view full version) relates to traditional student houses and flats. The Code of Practice for Larger Student Properties (click here to view full version) relates to accommodation that generally contains more than 20 bed spaces in a single building. The type of accommodation that you reside in will determine which Code of Practice relates to you.

Introduction

• We require all landlords who register with Liverpool Student Homes to meet a set of performance standards, set out in our Codes of Practice.
• The Codes contain a series of undertakings that relate to the management and maintenance of their property.
• The Codes cover advertising, marketing, contracts, accounting, repairs, personal conduct, security, access, regulations, safety, deposits and administration (see the code for full details).
• Code of practice officers have the authority to investigate breaches of the code and to recommend sanctions to be taken against landlords or refer the matter to an independent Arbitration and Sanctions Panel (click here for procedures and guidance).
• Landlords who breach the code risk having their registration with LSH suspended.

What are the benefits of taking a Code of Practice property?

• Code of Practice landlords have given a commitment to quality to give you confidence that their property is big enough, safe enough and secure enough and that they will fulfil all the responsibilities expected of a landlord.
• If your landlord breaches the Code you can complain to Code of Practice Officers who can be found at the Students Unions welfare offices and at Liverpool Student Homes.
• You have the further reassurance that should your landlords fail to meet the standards you have recourse to a framework for dealing with complaints and resolving disputes.

How can I make a complaint?

To make a complaint against a Landlord you feel may be in breach of the Code, please click here or call into the LSH office and ask for a Code of Practice complaint form.

Recent Decisions of the Arbitration and Sanctions Panel (click here to view)

Useful Documents

• Code of Practice 2010/2011 (pdf)
• Code of Practice for larger student properties (doc)

Proceedures and Guidance

Where complaints are recieved from tenants regarding the Code of Practice a landlord will receive the following:

• Stage 1: A letter detailing the nature of the complaint and requesting a written response within a two week period. Failure to respond to Stage 1 will result id;
• Stage 2: A reminder letter requesting a written response within seven working days. Failure to respond to Stages 1 and 2 will result in;
• Stage 3: A final letter detailing alleged breaches of the Code of Practice. Failure to respond to this final correspondence will result in all properties advertised being suspended until a response is provided.

A copy of any response received shall be forwarded to the student tenant for comment. The complainant shall be given fourteen days to respond to any correspondence provided by the landlord. If no response is received, or the complainant indicates that he/she is satisfied with the landlord's response, a letter shall be sent to the landlord thanking him/her for co-operating and advising him/her that the matter is closed.

If the complainant disputes the information provided and/or raises additional issues, or where the landlord has not dealt with all of the issues raised, the CPO shall write to the landlord again summarising the complainant's comments, where appropriate, and requesting a further response. The above procedure shall then be repeated.

The Code of Practice Officer can give advice to both parties on compliance with the Code of Practice.

A student tenant or a landlord/agent may request the Code of Practice Officer arranges a meeting for all parties to attend to attempt to resolve any alleged breach of any clause within the Code of Practice. This can include student breaches of Section 4 and involve student to student complaints. With the agreement of all parties the Code of Practice Officer or designated LSH officer will act as a mediator with the sole purpose of assisting parties to reach an agreement. Prior to any meeting taking place, the Code of Practice Officer or designated LSH Officer will distribute to all parties a Code of Conduct document on how the meeting will be conducted. The overriding purpose of this section of the Code is to try to assist in the resolution of any dispute between the student tenant and the landlord. However where the Code of Practice Officer is unable to resolve the complaint or deems the breach of the Code to be sufficiently serious, they may refer the matter to the Arbitration and Sanctions Panel, and inform the landlord accordingly.

The Arbitration and Sanction Panel shall hear the complaint and allow the landlord the opportunity to respond. Should the panel find in favour of the complainant they may impose the following sanctions, and inform the landlord accordingly.

• Level 1: Inform the landlord they have breached the Code
• Level 2: Inform the landlord they have breached the Code and recommend a suitable recovery plan
• Level 3: Publish the details of the Level 2 sanction on the LSH website
• Level 4: Suspend the landlord for a period of not less than 12 months
• Level 5: Cease to advertise the landlord's property or properties through Liverpool Student Homes
• Level 6: Cease to advertise the landlord's property or properties through Liverpool Student Homes, report the landlord to relevant enforcement agencies for possible legal action and advertise details of the decision of the Panel to the wider community

Any sanctions imposed at Level 3 or above will be displayed on the Liverpool Student Homes website. The Code of Practice Officer has the authority to impose a sanction at Level 1 or 2, but shall only do so after providing a full written explanation to the landlord. The landlord shall have the right of appeal to the Panel should they disagree with the decision of the Code of Practice Officer, however the Panel has the authority to impose a higher sanction.

Where a landlord and/or agent fails to respond to correspondence from the Code of Practice Officer relating to any alleged breach of the Code at Stages 1, 2 & 3, after the expiry of 14 days from the date of such correspondence the Code of Practice Officer may refer the alleged breach to the Chairperson of the Arbitration and Sanctions Panel for consideration. The Chairperson may, in his or her absolute discretion, choose to consider the matter on the basis of the information provided and is authorised to impose any Level of sanction under the Code without an oral hearing of the parties and whether sitting alone or with the assistance of the Panel.

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