Having a safe and welcoming place to live is essential for students to study effectively and to feel able to be part of wider student life. It's important that providers set out clearly for students how to raise any concerns about their accommodation.
Complaints related to accommodation owned by a provider
Providers must offer a complaints process which includes issuing a Completion of Procedures letter with information about the role of the OIA and how to contact us at the end of the process.
Privately-owned accommodation including purpose-built student complexes
Where accommodation is owned and operated by a private landlord, higher education Providers and student representative bodies should signpost students to alternative routes of complaint, such as those operated by the landlord, Accreditation Network UK and The UUK/GuildHE Student Accommodation Code. Students can also be signposted to the Housing Ombudsman or the relevant local authority.
Complaints related to a Provider's role within a privately-owned accommodation
Some accommodation can be provided in partnership with a private owner. The Provider may have a role in allocation, advertising, collecting rent or other aspects of managing a privately-owned accommodation. Providers must give clarity to students on what can be considered through its complaint process and what must be progressed alternate routes of complaints operated by the owner of the accommodation. Complaints about aspects controlled by the HE provider should be considered by its own complaints process and are something we could ultimately review at the end of that process.
What do we see?
Some complaints from students are about situations within their accommodation but are not strictly about the accommodation itself. Students should still be able to use a provider's usual complaints processes for disclosing or reporting concerns about someone else’s behaviour even if it occurred in private accommodation.
The complaints we have reviewed from students covered topics including:
- Quality of accommodation such as problems with hot water and heating, cleanliness, issues with pests, wi-fi and security.
- Behaviour of staff, including unauthorised access to students’ rooms.
- Behaviour of other students including noise, loss or damage to property, and harassment
- Accessibility of accommodation and whether reasonable adjustments have been made for disabled students
- Terms of the accommodation contract when a student has not continued with their studies.
We find providers can be quick to acknowledge when the quality of accommodation has fallen short of what was promised. Providers often offer to meet any reasonable extra costs students have incurred because of a problem with their accommodation. However, students can feel upset if a provider does not also recognise the inconvenience and distress caused by the problem. The longer this dissatisfaction continues, the greater the likelihood that students will ask for financial compensation.
In some cases, providers have acted quickly to fix a problem. In others though, students have experienced problems for several months because they did not use a specific route to log a maintenance issue, or where problems were incorrectly recorded as having been fixed.
Some key takeaways for providers are:
- Listen carefully at the earliest stage. Establish whether the student is providing feedback or seeking action or resolution.
- Be clear about expectations and outcomes. Explain when no further action can reasonably be taken and what the student can do next.
- Frontline responses matter. Staff should respond appropriately, acknowledge the student’s experience and avoid dismissive or defensive language, which can escalate concerns.
- Make routes to raise issues and deadlines clear. Students should understand when and how they can escalate a concern, particularly where formal complaint deadlines apply.
- Keep good records. Record what was raised, what action was taken, what was communicated and when. Check in with the student to see if the issue is resolved.
- Make contractual arrangements clear. Explain when students can leave accommodation without a penalty and what options exist for transferring a tenancy or finding a replacement.
Early intervention, clear communication, appropriate signposting and good record keeping can make a significant difference. Student-facing staff should understand when a concern may amount to a complaint, what they have the authority to resolve locally, when to involve others, and how to make sure the student understands what happens next.
Case summaries - Accommodation - November 2026
Read the case summaries released in conjunction with the casework note.