Student and Staff Housing Advice Use of Service Policy

 Previous Version  October 2023

 Review Type:  Formal Review

 Scale of Changes:  Major Changes

 Level of Approval:  Director

 New Version:  1.0

IF YOU NEED A COPY OF THIS DOCUMENT IN AN ALTERNATIVE FORMAT, PLEASE CONTACT THE HOUSING SERVICES TEAM ON  housing@london.ac.uk or 020 7862 8880.

1. What you can expect from us

The Private Housing and Advice Team at the University of London Housing Services (“ULHS”) offers housing guidance and general support to students, staff of the University of London and students of certain subscribing Colleges that need assistance with private rented housing. A “College” means any Federation Member of the University of London, or any other university or college, subscribing to ULHS services.

We will assist you at the earliest possible opportunity and treat you in a kind, courteous and non-judgmental manner free from discrimination.

You will be allocated an advisor. If your case continues beyond an initial appointment, you will continue to receive support from the same advisor, subject to availability, who will communicate with you by e-mail and telephone and can arrange further meetings with you, if necessary. Your advisor will give you full and accurate information regarding your case and keep you up-to-date of any developments.

ULHS advisers are experienced in housing matters but are not usually qualified solicitors and are not authorised to provide formal legal advice or carry out certain legal tasks that only regulated lawyers can perform (such as formally representing you in court or conducting legal proceedings on your behalf).

We offer general guidance and practical support – this may include helping you draft letters, prepare documents, or attend housing-related hearings with you in a supportive capacity. However, this support is not a substitute for legal advice from a qualified solicitor.

In some cases, we may need to be listed as your representative on tribunal paperwork so that we can assist with preparing your case. This does not mean we will represent you at the hearing itself. We may attend in a support role (such as a McKenzie Friend), which means we can assist with note-taking or offer quiet advice, but you remain responsible for presenting your case and speaking at the hearing.

We do not act as your legal representatives, and you are responsible for any actions or decisions you take based on our guidance. Where legal advice or formal representation is needed, we strongly encourage you to consult a qualified solicitor.

Please refer to part 3 b) of this policy which gives details on the limits of our expertise. The team works closely with an external housing law firm and the team may discuss your case with them. Occasionally we may refer your case directly to our external solicitors for a consultation. This is rare and will normally be in cases of a serious nature and where there is some urgency. However, the decision to make the referral will be at our sole discretion.

In most cases our advisors will offer advice and support to empower you to deal with your housing matter directly. However, where we think it would be beneficial to resolving your case or where we believe you might need some extra assistance, we may be able to make contact with landlords, agents and others on your behalf. The decision on the level of support we offer will be at our discretion. We will not make any contact on your behalf without your permission.

All discussions are confidential, except where disclosure is required by law or necessary to protect someone's safety.

2. What we expect from you

We expect you to:

a) Contact us as soon as it becomes apparent you will need advice.

b) Attend appointments and be on time. If you are running late you must contact us (we may need to rearrange your appointment if your advisor is no longer able to see you).

c) Be honest with your advisor and deal with them in a courteous and respectful manner free from discrimination.

d) Respond promptly to our e-mails and telephone calls and to provide us with any documentation and information requested within a reasonable period of time.

e) To follow the advice given by your advisor for as long as you are in receipt of advice from us (and not to act in a way that could be detrimental to your case without first discussing this with us).

f) To understand that our advisors are busy helping lots of clients and will rarely be able to respond to you instantly. If your advisor is away and you need assistance, another advisor will assess the case to see whether it needs dealing with before your advisor’s return.

g) To accept that ULHS does not provide legal advice or representation, and that it is your responsibility to seek professional legal support where required.

We ask that you treat our staff with the same kindness and respect that you expect in return. Our advisors have the right to work in a safe and supportive environment. Aggressive, disrespectful, or inappropriate behaviour will not be tolerated and may result in immediate withdrawal of the service.

3. Circumstances where we cannot help you

We list below the circumstances in which we will be unable to assist you. In such cases we will aim to provide you with details of alternative advice services. At all times our services are provided at our discretion and we reserve the right to refuse to provide our services at any time.

a) Where you are not eligible to access the service because you are either: (i) not a current student (including if you have graduated) of the University of London or of one of our Colleges; or (ii) not a current staff member of the University of London. A full list of our Colleges can be found here: https://housing.london.ac.uk/about-us/who-can-use-ulhs.

b) Where the advice you are seeking falls outside our area of expertise, and it would be in your best interests to seek alternative support. We specialise in advice for private housing tenants and do not have the expertise to advise council or social housing tenants. We do not offer advice to landlords and are also unable to offer advice on any non-housing matters which can include areas that are closely related e.g. issues with council tax, utility providers, debt, bankruptcy or benefits. Where you require advice or information on these related areas, you will need to seek advice via an alternative service (such as instructing your own solicitor).

c) Where a conflict of interest has been identified. This includes situations where students are living in accommodation owned, managed or allocated by one of the Colleges (including University Halls of Residence). Conflicts may also arise where, for example, the issue relates to a problem involving another student or staff member eligible, or otherwise connected, to the University or its Federation Members, and it would be inappropriate for the Service to become involved.

4. Circumstances where we may withdraw access to the service

In exceptional circumstances, it may be necessary to withdraw a client’s access to the service. In such circumstances we will provide you with a referral to alternative advice agencies.

Some examples of circumstances in which we may withdraw access are:

a) If the client fails to comply with any terms of this policy.

b) If the client is no longer eligible to access the service because, for example, they have graduated or left a subscribing College.

c) We reserve the right to withdraw or limit access to our service at any time, at our sole discretion, particularly where the behaviour of a client impacts the wellbeing of staff or other users, or where continued engagement is no longer appropriate. This includes but is not limited to the following examples: if the client has been violent, aggressive, threatening or abusive towards staff or is considered to pose a threat to the safety and well-being of our staff or other clients.

d) Where a case puts significant strain/causes stress to an advisor due either to behaviour of a client or an opponent or other person related to the housing case.

e) If the client regularly refuses to follow the advice given by their advisor or regularly changes their mind about what they want to do.

f) If the client fails to provide the required information needed to progress their case.

g) If the client consistently fails to keep appointments or undertake agreed actions without good reason.

h) If it is suspected that the client is attempting to mislead the advisor or to defraud a third party.

i) If we feel a client is misusing our time and resources, including repeatedly seeking assistance beyond the scope of our service, disregarding our advice, or raising issues that are trivial, vexatious or outside our remit or where you bring a claim but have suffered no financial loss. This might be where we feel that you are consistently asking advisors to undertake actions that a client could undertake themselves. We have limited resources and aim to allow as many students as possible to use our services. As our resources are finite, we may, at our discretion, place limits on the amount of support we can reasonably provide.

j) If we believe that the client’s support needs are more appropriate to another service (e.g. counselling or mediation).

k) If an advisor considers that your case does not have a realistic prospect of success, i.e. less than 50% chance, then we may decide to withdraw services. If you ask us to do so, we will refer your case to our external housing law firm for confirmation that the assessment is accurate.

l) Any other circumstance which, in our absolute discretion, warrants the withdrawal of access to the service but that we were not aware of when we initially offered you assistance.

m) If we are required to do so for safeguarding or legal compliance purposes.

5. What you can do if you are unhappy about a decision we make

If you are not happy about a decision that we make relating to this policy or any other aspect of the service we deliver, you have the right to complain. Our complaints procedure can be accessed here: https://housing.london.ac.uk/complaints. Alternatively, please ask us for a hard copy.

6. Data Protection and Privacy Statement

ULHS is part of the University of London http://www.london.ac.uk. You can find out more about our privacy policies at the University at the following link: http://www.london.ac.uk/data-protection.html.

a) Your personal data and this use of service policy

In order for us to manage your request for housing advice, we will need to process your personal data as part of your use of our service.

We will collect from you:

• Contact details

• Information about your course of study and institution

• Your disability status (when relevant to your housing needs)

• Your property address with landlord and letting agent details

• Your student status (used to verify housing advice eligibility with your institution)

We will share with your institution:

• Your student status, name, student ID, course and contact details to confirm eligibility for housing advice

• Your serious welfare issue or medical emergency (where appropriate)

• Your case work (where appropriate)

• Complaints and other related issues

We will share with our legal advisors where we have obtained your consent:

• Student name and institution

• Disability status (where appropriate)

• References to harassment/discrimination (where appropriate)

• Mention of nationality/international student status (where appropriate)

• Your issue casework (where appropriate)

ULHS may share relevant data with your landlord and letting agent for the purposes of supporting you in your request for advice. This is detailed below:

While ULHS aims to maintain confidentiality in all its dealings, in certain extreme situations we may be required to disclose personal information without your consent. These situations may include: (a) where there is a serious risk of harm to you or someone else; (b) where there is a safeguarding concern; or (c) where we are required by law or regulatory authorities to do so. We will always seek to disclose the minimum necessary information and keep a record of the disclosure.

If you breach the use of service policy - for example, through misconduct, abusive behaviour, or other reasons listed under the section ‘Circumstances where we will withdraw access to the service’ - ULHS reserves the right to withdraw access to our services. In such cases, we will retain a record of the incident, and you may not be eligible for future support.

Where appropriate, we also reserve the right to inform your College or University of the withdrawal of service and the reasons for this. This helps ensure a safe and respectful environment for all service users and staff.

b) How we manage your data

Your data will be stored for the duration of your advice case. Your record will be retained in archive for 6 years before being deleted.

ULHS will carry out reporting and analysis of its clients in order to improve and target its services. This is for overall planning purposes and will not result in automated decision making regarding individuals.

ULHS may use a third party ‘data processor’ for certain services, which processes your data on the ULHS’s behalf. If your data is transferred outside the European Economic Area, ULHS will ensure that adequate protection is ensured according to the General Data Protection Regulation.

c) Your rights

You have a number of rights in regards to your data, including the right of access, erasure or restriction of processing – for further information please see: http://www.london.ac.uk/data-protection.html.

You have the right to complain to the UK regulator, the Information Commissioner – for further information please see: http://www.ico.org.uk.

7. We may make changes to these terms

We may amend these terms from time to time. Every time you wish to use our advice service, it is your responsibility to check these terms to ensure you understand the terms that apply at that time.