Health and safety
Our commitment to safe housing
We are aware that there are problems with housing standards in the student rental sector. We are also aware that students, as a client group, tend to be less experienced young people with lively lifestyles, and so can often be a demographic with increased risk.
We cannot expect students to attend our university without the confidence that we are doing all we reasonably can to make their time studying with us safe, enjoyable and productive. Our reputation needs to be unimpeachable and the properties we offer to be of excellent standards, market leaders for safe student housing.
HMO Licencing has gone a long way to making improvements in safety in a sector notorious for poor standards. However, this can lead to a misplaced confidence amongst some landlords who who have become reliant on HMO Enforcement to alert them to issues in their property. In fact, the responsibility for safety will always sit with the landlord, so whilst HMO Enforcement may flag certain issues, they are not offering a comprehensive service which provides safeguards for a landlord. We strongly caution against thinking that everything is fine because an HMO inspector did not raise it, this will not help those affected (or you in the courtroom) should the worst happen.
The University will not guarantee a landlord's property is safe for them- that remains their responsibility- but we will use our expertise and high standards to give as much assistance as we can to landlords to help them ensure that their properties are as safe as they should be. As you would expect, in the rare situations where we find that a landlord is not able- or willing- to match our commitment, we cannot maintain their property as part of our lettings portfolio.
Safety responsibilities at your property
Please be aware that as the property owner, you will ultimately be responsible for safety at your property- even if you appoint others to take care of the property, you can still be held responsible for ensuring they are competent to do so.
Unfortunately, the world of health and safety tends to be full of grey-areas, often without clear yes/ no answers or guidance. With so much open to interpretation, it can be tricky to navigate, sometimes frustrating and occasionally overwhelming. We recommend that you aim to err on the side of caution as, should the worst happen, this will generally be judged to be what you should have done.
The advice we offer here is intended as helpful guidance and suggestion, but remember that it is you that is ultimately responsible for ensuring the property is safe as far as can reasonably be expected.
The legal consequences for a landlord
There are obvious moral reasons for valuing safety in the provision of housing, which hardly need stating. The outcomes of the worst case scenarios are ruined lives. But in addition to this fundamental human principle, there are serious legal consequences for a landlord failing to meet high standards in the safety of their property. These can be unlimited fines, banning orders and imprisonment.
It is also worth bearing in mind that it doesn't even have to be the case that a particular failure has resulted in harm for a landlord to be prosecuted. The Health and Safety Executive has wide-ranging powers to inspect all aspects of how a property is managed and add cumulative sanctions for any aspects that are not correct, including on-site defects or missing paperwork.