If you’re experiencing problems with your student home and your landlord is being uncooperative, you are encouraged to make a complaint to Unipol.

But what does this mean? And how do you do it?

Firstly you’d raise it with your landlord, and if no action is taken after seven days then you can contact Unipol. We will get in touch with your landlord and see how we can resolve the matter.

Students often visit the offices of their letting agent, or telephone their landlord with a problem they’re experiencing. This is fine but always remember to follow up the visit or telephone call with an email, as this creates a paper trail and confirms when the problem was reported. Unipol also needs to see that the issues have been sent to the landlord in writing prior to complaining with Unipol.

So, how do you raise an issue with Unipol?

If you’re looking for some informal advice, pop into our Housing Hub or contact us by telephone/email and we’d be happy to help. If you’d like to proceed with a complaint, use our online complaints form here. Once we’ve received your complaint, we will get in contact with your landlord, explaining what parts of the Code you feel have been breached. If the complaint involves serious defects to the property, Unipol can carry out inspections and will send the landlord a report detailing any necessary repairs.

If we cannot come to a resolution between you and your landlord, the complaint will be referred to the complaints Tribunal. Don’t be alarmed! It’s not as scary as it sounds. The Tribunal is impartial and fair and will close the complaint with a final decision.

So what if the issue you’re having isn’t included in the Unipol Code?

We will always try and give you some advice, no matter what the issue. However, for things not covered by the Unipol Code, we always recommend you speak with your Students’ Union advice team. Below are a couple of areas that often crop up which don’t fall under the Code:

• For advice about contract terminations then you can get some legal advice and support from your Students’ Union or local Citizens Advice Bureau. Remember to take a copy of your contract with you so they can have a read through.
• For disputes relating to deposits, you should contact the scheme in which your deposit is held. The deposit schemes have a dispute resolution service which tenants and landlords can use. Always remember to take photographic evidence and attach this to your dispute.

If you need any help with the complaints process or general advice about how to report things to your landlord then you can get in touch with Megan, Unipol’s Code Complaints Investigator, at M.Blanden@unipol.org.uk.