University of Lincoln Students' Union Accommodation Survey Results 2016
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
University of Lincoln Students’ Union
Accommodation Survey Results 2016
This year’s University of Lincoln Students’ Union Accommodation Survey was conducted from
18th January to 3rd April to encourage more students to take part.
The survey was hosted online using the University of Lincoln Students’ Union website as well
as paper copies used for Student Officers to promote whilst GOATing (Going Out and
Talking) which were then inputted by SU Staff.
To market this survey, a mixture of posters, newsletters and social media was used alongside
the Student Officer promotion. Additionally, Letting Agents and Halls of Residence were
contacted to promote the survey to their residents in order to gain feedback on their services.
An incentive of a TV was introduced during the survey period in order to increase
participation.
The survey was completed by 8.1% (1106) of our members – an increase of 1% (150) response
rate.
The majority of respondents were Undergraduate (95%) with an almost equal split between
Postgraduate Taught and Research as a make-up of the remaining 5%. This was a similar
picture with regards to nationality, with a high percentage of Home students (95%) and the
remaining 5% split between EU and International Students. The low engagement from these
groups could be that more Postgraduate students may have their own property or a family
property in comparison with the Undergraduate students, which could also have affected the
responses from Home and EU/International students.
With regards to level of study, the majority of respondents came from Second Year (36%) and
First Year (36%) and this may be due to the prominence of the Survey alongside the
information about renting accommodation for next year.
1Headline Results
In this year’s Accommodation Survey, respondents appear to be making choices on their
accommodation based on the property itself, however whilst in the tenancy changing their
priorities to customer service values, for example communication or quick responses.
It is also interesting to note that the expectations of the respondents, and potentially the
wider student body, – are higher than what the accommodation providers anticipate or are
currently providing to their tenants. This is reflected in the latter half of the survey, and is
likely to be due to students becoming more educated around these areas for example how
long they should wait for a repair or who should enter the property and when.
Finally, a result of Question 9, Lighthouse Property Services have met the required result of
scoring 3.0 or above on the question “How satisfied are you with your current
accommodation?”, for the boycott of University of Lincoln Students’ Union on them. As a
result, the boycott should be lifted.
Key Recommendations
Recommendation: For the Advice Centre Advisor to annually review the list of providers
included within the survey to ensure it reflects the current market.
Recommendation: For the Advice Centre and Marketing Team to continue to promote a
“Wait to Rent” Campaign to educate students.
Recommendation: For the Advice Centre to continue to discourage providers to sign up
students for accommodation on the day of the Housing Fayre.
Recommendation: To create an “information portal” on the Advice Centre section of the
Lincoln SU website, providing useful information about providers, potentially from other
students. This will be led by the Vice President Welfare and Community with the Advice
Centre Manager.
Recommendation: For the Students’ Union Advice Centre to deliver a campaign about
reporting bullying and problems with housemates to the Advice Centre or Accommodation
Provider.
Recommendation: The Advice Centre Manager to offer a small briefing to providers to
highlight respondent answers in order to improve services mentioned in this survey.
Recommendation: The President to make Lighthouse Property Services aware that the
boycott against them has been lifted. The Advice Centre Manager should meet with them to
make them aware that there is an ambition to assist Lighthouse Property Services to work on
their customer service provision in order to ensure that students do not have a negative
experience whilst being a tenant of their properties.
Recommendation: For the Advice Centre Manager to work with the partners of the City of
Lincoln Accreditation Scheme to encourage improvements to their publicity to students to
raise awareness of the remit of the Scheme, and actions the Scheme has carried out.
Recommendation: For the Advice Centre and Marketing Team to publicise the
accommodation support that the Advice Centre can provide, and ensure that all Advice Staff
are trained to deliver this effectively
2Results
Your Current Accommodation
1. Please choose which type of accommodation you live in?
2015 2016
37%
47%
53%
63%
Halls Private Halls Private
In comparison to last year’s results for this question, more respondents are now living in Halls
of Residence, leading it closer to an equal split between private accommodation and Halls of
Residence. This may be due to the high number of first years who took part in this year’s
survey and due to the idea of ease that is associated with living in a Halls of Residence, due
to location or inclusivity of bills or services.
For question 1a) about which Halls of Residence students live in there were some respondents
who selected a Halls of Residence which they live in, but for question one stated they lived
in Private Accommodation. The terminology that we use for these may need to vary so that
students understand more i.e. change accommodation to housing if that is the issue.
Recommendation: To review the language used to ensure that students understand the
meaning of Private accommodation or its equivalent.
31a) If in Halls of Residence, please select from the list below then proceed to Question 3:
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
Aqua House 1%
1%
Brayford Court 1% 8%
Brayford Quays 10% 12%
Cathedral Street Apartments 2% 5%
College Mews 2%
Danesgate House 3%
2%
The Gateway 7%
Hayes House 0% 2%
Hayes Wharf 3% 6%
The Junxion 14% 19%
Park Court 5% 6%
Park View 1%
The Pavilions 15% 20%
Saul House 1%
Student Village/Courts 17% 25%
St.Marks House 0%
2015 2016
This chart shows how many of the respondents who selected Halls of Residence live in each
of the Halls around Campus. This year there has been an introduction of more Halls of
Residence which has meant that popular spots such as The Junxion appear to have less of
the respondents in them when comparing to last year’s statistics. However, some
accommodation providers have increased such as Brayford Quays, which may be due to
renovation works which took place last year.
42) If in a Private House or Flat, did you rent through a Letting Agent or Private Landlord?
22%
78%
Letting Agent Private Landlord
For respondents who are in Private Accommodation, results show that the majority have
rented through a Letting Agent as opposed to a Private Landlord. This could be due to the
fact that traditionally there are more Letting Agents who are more publicised, and are in
attendance at the Housing Fayres held on campus in comparison to Private Landlords. As a
Students’ Union, generally speaking, we would prefer students to go through a Letting Agent
as they appear to know more about legal rights and responsibilities and can be easier to
contact in urgent or emergency situations. This isn’t always the case and there are several
Private Landlords available who offer excellent service.
52a) If through a Letting Agent, please select Letting Agent from below:
20.0%
17.7%
18.0%
15.7%
16.0%
14.0% 12.1%
12.0%
10.0% 8.4% 8.6%
8.0% 6.7% 7.1%
5.4%
6.0% 4.3% 4.1%
3.9%
4.0% 3.0%
1.9% 1.5% 1.9% 1.5%
2.0% 0.2% 0.6% 1.1% 0.0%
0.9% 0.6% 0.2% 0.9%
0.0% 0.4% 0.0%
0.0%
0.0% 0.2% 0.2% 0.0% 0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
Other
Avenue Lets
LetsRent
Student Living
APS Properties
Brayford Lets
Lincoln Digs
City Lets
Cloud Lettings
Condor Propoerties
Morgan Property Rentals
Lincoln Living Ltd.
Unity Lettings
Villa Park Estates Ltd.
Hart Properties
Orange Egg LLP
Lets4U
Pysos Properties
Slingsbys Lincoln Ltd.
Student Housing Lincoln
Acorn Lets
Jones Student Properties
Student Lets
JVS Homes
LCT Properties
loc8me
Student Pad
Charlestown Properties
Colourbox Properties
Lighthouse Property Services
Hake Lettings Ltd.
Jigsaw property Solutions
Property Care Management
Your Home Lincoln Ltd.
In this year’s survey all Letting Agents were included that were known over the past year as
new agents, as well as who were listed on the University of Lincoln Student Pad website. The
results show quite a few of these may be new providers as there are currently not a significant
amount (< 0%) of students in these properties. The most common Letting Agent amongst
respondents is Lighthouse Property Services with almost 18% of respondents renting through
them, closely followed by Charlestown Properties accommodation with almost 16%.
Recommendation: For the Advice Centre Advisor to annually review the list of providers
included within the survey to ensure it reflects the current market.
63) How did you find your current accommodation?
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%
Online 36%
40%
Friend's recommendation 23%
19%
Housing Fayre 10%
12%
Letting Agent 11%
10%
Student Pad 1%
1%
Social Media 3%
3%
Saw the property whilst passing it by 6%
5%
Other 10%
10%
2015 2016
The chart above demonstrates that the methods students are favouring to find
accommodation is changing slightly. More respondents are choosing to find their
accommodation online as opposed to passing by the property, and more respondents are
choosing to use the on campus Housing Fayre instead of going directly to the Letting Agent
or listening to the views of their friends.
It is important to note that the respondents who have selected the Housing Fayre will be
referring to the Housing Fayre of academic year 14/15 (December ’14). The current plans to
make the Housing Fayre more flexible may help with improving the use of the event as a
mechanism to find accommodation, and this in turn can be used to educate students further
as to the decisions they are making. However, the impact of this may not be seen until the
Accommodation Survey 2018, due to the cycle of fayres and surveys.
The majority of the comments from those who selected “Other” showed that they had either
lived in the property previously, had been helped by the University or had been seen at Open
Days. The comments from respondents who selected “Online” had used the University of
Lincoln website for accommodation referrals or to find University managed accommodation.
Comments were also made to the Letting Agents direct website as well as high street letting
agents and Rightmove.
Recommendation: To include the University of Lincoln website as an option, to see if it is a
significant source.
74) When did you sign for your current accommodation (approximate month)?
0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0%
January 10.8%
February 5.0%
March 5.0%
April 3.4%
May 3.2%
June 4.3%
July 5.0%
August 21.6%
September 9.1%
October 2.2%
November 13.2%
December 17.0%
In previous years this question had been asking students when did they look for their
property, however due to the University of Lincoln Students’ Union campaign - “Wait to
Rent”, it was suggested that the more appropriate question would be when do students sign
up for the accommodation to reflect the principles of the campaign.
August seems to be when the majority of respondents signed their contract for their current
accommodation. This is due to the high amount of first years who responded, due to not
signing for accommodation until after their results from further education courses have been
released. In order to gather an accurate picture of the results we would need to remove the
data from first year students for this question. Additionally, it could be because a high number
of student tenancies begin on 1st August and so respondents may be asked to sign for their
accommodation at this point of the year. In order to resolve this, we need to make it clear in
the question that we’re asking when they signed their contract, not gained access.
When did you sign for your current
accommodation (approximate month)? Excluding
First Year Students.
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
January 15%
February 8%
March 6%
April 4%
May 3%
June 3%
July 3%
August 4%
September 3%
October 3%
November 21%
December 27%
This chart shows that without the first year data range that December is the most popular
time amongst respondents to sign for accommodation – which is something that is not
encouraged by the University of Lincoln Students’ Union. This may be as a result of current
8providers asking to renew before the New Year in order to keep their property, as well as
persuasions at viewings. At this academic years Housing Fayre, providers who were invited
were discouraged to ask students to sign up for accommodation on that day. This is
something that the University of Lincoln Students’ Union will need to continue to dissuade
students from doing in order to ensure they have made a confident decision on where they
will be living, who with and whether they can afford it.
Recommendation: For the Advice Centre and Marketing Team to continue to promote a
“Wait to Rent” Campaign to educate students.
Recommendation: Only ask this question to level two and above students who are able to
sign for accommodation at any point of the year.
Recommendation: Make the wording of the question clearer to ensure we collate the
necessary data.
Recommendation: For the Advice Centre to continue to discourage providers to sign up
students for accommodation on the day of the Housing Fayre.
95) What factors did you consider when choosing your current accommodation?
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900
Appearance 440
Size of Property 378
Safety Precautions 70
Close of Amenities 175
Distance to University 817
Being close to friends/family 46
Reputation of area 148
Car parking 59
Security 127
Rent per week 617
Reputation of Landlord/Agent 57
Friend's Recommendation 47
Comments on Social Media 19
Fees Charged by Landlord 59
Deposit Amount 46
Incentives 43
Other 35
For this question these students could choose three options for which factors were
considered when choosing their accommodation. As noted from the chart above, students
are showing that they take into consideration the “Distance to University”, “Rent per Week”
and “Appearance” of the property. Least opted for were “Comments on Social Media”,
“Incentives”, “Deposit Amount” or “Being Close to friends/family”. This year the University
of Lincoln Students’ Union have been made aware of some landlords using a deposit waiver
which may be reflected in future results, or if used before this year, may be affecting this
year’s results and could indicate why “Deposit Amount” is so low.
These selections show that students are focussing more on the actual property with regards
to location, cost and aesthetics as opposed to options provided by Landlord or Letting Agent
as incentives to encourage students to sign to them.
106) What issues have you encountered in your current house/flat?
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Mould 318351
Damp 305 494
Condensation 225 494
Leaking Roof/Windows 131
125
Damaged Furniture 293
288
Draughts 141 208
Boiler/Central Heating Breaking 274
282
Electrical Safety Hazards 120
115
Mice/Slugs/Other Infestations 115
117
Poor Internet Connection 446478
Noise 294 380
Landlord/Letting Agent entering the property with less… 108 170
Bullying/Harassment from Housemates 5980
Loneliness 73 128
No Significant Issue 221
Other 119
2015 2016
For this question, respondents were able to select as many options as they needed to in order
to share any issues. The most commonly selected this year were “Poor Internet Connection”,
“Noise” and “Mould”. The “Poor internet Connection” result is interesting as this is
something that the Advice Centre has been made aware of more and more as the academic
year reaches its end. Students have also reported about the Library not remaining open
twenty-four hours opening which affected students when their accommodation internet
connection did not work.
This year, external feedback was gathered. Issues of “Damp” and “Condensation” was
separated unlike previous years. The separation of them shows that, “Damp” was
experienced most by the respondents to this survey. If they were combined as they were last
year, there would be an increase of 36 experiences of them showing that these are still big
issues for students. The chart above indicates that “Loneliness”, increased by 55
respondents, and “Bullying and Harassment from housemates”, increased by 21
respondents, when compared to last year’s results. Additionally, there appear to have been
as a rise in issues brought to the attention to colleagues in the Advice Centre and additionally
research for our 2016-2021 strategy has shown that 19% of our members think about
bullying/harassment or isolation on a daily basis. For these reasons, we feel that students
need to believe that they can speak up and report these issues if they’re facing them.
Recommendation: For the Students’ Union Advice Centre to deliver a campaign about
reporting bullying and problems with housemates to the Advice Centre or Accommodation
Provider.
117)What qualities are important to you in a landlord/letting agency?
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Good Communication 510 789
Part of the University Accreditation Scheme 109 181
Cheap or no Admin Fee when signing for the property 135 220
Quick to respond to repair/maintenance requests 518 881
Returns the deposit quickly after the end of the tenancy 107 183
Holds your deposit in a Deposit Protection Scheme 71 180
Endorsed by the Students' Union 45
63
Endorsed by the University 70 143
Length of Tenancy Agreement (Contract) 125 200
Replies to emails/phone messages etc. in a timely… 228 300
Understands Students Needs 257 377
Proximity to the house/flat you are renting 4682
Gives sufficient notice before entering property 91 163
Electricity Safety Certificate 3266
Gas Safety Certificate 4164
Fire Equipment 3669
Includes Bills in the cost of rent 389 601
Includes TV License in the cost of rent 72
50
Provides good internet connection inclusive of rent. 193 337
2015 2016
Again with this question, respondents were asked to select five qualities that were important
to them. It is very clear from the data that the most important quality shown by providers to
the respondents was that they were “Quick to respond to repair/maintenance requests”.
Second to this was the quality of “Good Communication” which almost goes hand in hand
with the previous mentioned quality. It is interesting to note that when these answers are
compared, they are different to those selected in Question 5. In Question 5 respondents
stated that they considered distance, appearance and cost of rent when selecting
accommodation, – factors which are arguably property based. However, in this question, the
response to maintenance and communication could be argued as customer service based
factors or qualities. As customer service appears to be an important factor to students, it may
be useful to provide information to students on the different landlords/agents available for
them to access before they sign up to a provider.
It could be considered that some of the qualities from this question is included in the selection
for Question 5 such as good communication. Doing this may help to discover if students
change their opinion as to what is important at the point of signing for a property as opposed
to when they have been in the tenancy for a short while. It may also be as a result of students
who have had issues are now reconsidering what matters to them about their
accommodation.
Recommendation: To create an “information portal” on the Advice Centre section of the
Lincoln SU website, providing useful information about providers, potentially from other
students. This will be led by the Vice President Welfare and Community with the Advice
Centre Manager.
12Recommendation: To include “Good Communication” in Question 5 to see if there are any
differences when choosing their accommodation when compared to their view when their
tenancy has started.
138) On a scale from 1 (Poor) to 5 (Excellent) how would you rate the following with regards to
your current accommodation?
1 2 3 4 5
H E L P F U L N E S S A N D P O L I T E N E S S O F … 59 95 216 317 419
E A S E O F C O N T A C T W I T H … 51 88 204 352 411
P R O F E S S I O N A L I S M O F … 63 86 228 343 386
SPEED OF REPAIRS 101 148 227 283 347
S I Z E O F P R O P E R T Y 2482 260 414 326
QUALITY OF REPAIRS 83 109 244 352 318
S E C U R I T Y 42 116 255 388 305
C L E A N L I N E S S O F P R O P E R T Y 44 125 304 411 222
VALUE FOR MONEY 81 142 313 373 197
QUALITY OF PROPERTY 52 116 310 434 194
For the majority of these areas, respondents scored highly for 4 and 5 at the positive end of
the scale. The majority of these had a difference when calculated of between 100-200
respondents who are more satisfied than those who are not about each of these areas e.g.
for “Size of Property”. Responses of 1,2 and 3 calculated to 366, whereas responses at 4 or
5 totalled 740.
The only area where there was not a significant difference was “Value for Money”. Responses
of 1,2 or 3 at the lower end of scale had a total of 536 and the total of 4 and 5 responses
gave a total of 570. This could suggest further that students’ expectations of what they are
expecting with regards to property and what they receive for their money are changing.
Recommendation: The Advice Centre Manager to offer a small briefing to providers of what
their tenants who responded to this survey believed in order to improve services above.
149) Please select how satisfied you are with your current accommodation on a scale of 1 (not
at all satisfied) to 5 (Very satisfied).
2015 2016
5% 5%
19% 10% 9%
22%
22%
25%
41%
43%
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
The charts above show that, when the results of this question are compared to last year’s
survey results, there is a slight shift of satisfaction on the scale between “Not at all satisfied”
and “Very satisfied”. There still remains a 5% of respondents who are “Not at all satisfied”,
whereas those who rated their accommodation at 4 has reduced by 1% taking them into the
top 3 scoring of satisfaction. The 4% difference from those who scored 3 and 4 have moved
up into the top 2 tiers of satisfaction giving 1 “Very Satisfied” an increase of 3% and 2 an
increase of 2%.
This would appear to show that students are becoming more satisfied with their
accommodation that they are living in, which may be as a result of provider’s improvements
or students being more aware of what is on offer to them as well as their rights as a tenant.
Additionally, this question was nominated as the measurement with regards to the boycott
against the Lighthouse Property Services, decided by the Executive Committee. This year
Lighthouse Property Services met their target of an average of 3.0 from their respondents on
this question. The boycott has been lifted, Lighthouse Property Services will be encouraged
to increase their level of customer service satisfaction (Q10) forwhich they scored below 3.0.
Recommendation: The President to make Lighthouse Property Services aware that the
boycott against them has been lifted. The Advice Centre Manager should meet with them to
make them aware that there is an ambition to assist Lighthouse Property Services to work on
their customer service provision in order to ensure that students do not have a negative
experience whilst being a tenant of their properties.
1510) Please select how satisfied you are with the service you receive from your current
landlord/agent on a scale of 1 (not at all satisfied) to 5 (very satisfied).
2015 2016
7% 6%
11% 10%
25% 26%
21%
24%
33%
37%
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
With regards to the responses received for question 10, it is a similar picture to question 9.
The respondents to this year’s survey appear to be slightly more satisfied than the previous
year’s data. Satisfaction seems to shift up from the lower scale to the higher end of “very
satisfied”, showed by an increase of 1%, and to the second highest option which has an
increase of 4%.
This may be linked to the information provided in question 9. With these results it’s likely that
if students are happier with their accommodation, this is due to an improved customer service
from their provider when answering to queries or answering to any maintenance requests.
Additionally, linking back to question 7, an information portal to allow students to consider
different aspects of providers before point of signing tenancy agreement could prove
valuable. This portal would include the customer service factor for students to find out with
the intention that they will sign with a provider who meets their expectations. This information
will include factual information from the Landlords and provider such as price ranges and
data from this and previous surveys, as well as the accreditation scheme. This information
should allow for students to be able to compare providers against each other but also against
previous year’s data. It could also in turn lead to a general improvement in customer service
provided by Letting Agents, Private Landlords and Halls of Residence providers.
1611) Who do you think provides the following service?
2015
University of Lincoln Students’ Union Private provider City Council
Information on choosing accommodation 45% 44% 9%
1%
Accredit landlords and agents 40% 32% 12% 16%
Check properties meet the required standards 22% 20% 23% 35%
Support with accommodation issues 26% 57% 15%2%
Conflict resolution with housemates 18% 63% 19%0%
Help find your accommodation 32% 57% 11%
1%
Legal Rights and Responsibilities as a Tenant 18% 25% 25% 31%
2016
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120%
Information on choosing accommodation 39% 52% 8%1%
Accredit Landlords and Agents 41% 27% 13% 18%
Check properties meet the required standards 22% 13% 23% 42%
Support wth accommodation issues 27% 58% 13%2%
Conflict resolution with housemates 18% 60% 21% 1%
Help find your accommodation 33% 59% 8%0%
Legal rights and Responsibilities as a Tenant 18% 17% 26% 38%
University of Lincoln Students' Union Private Provider City Council
This question is about the provision of services surrounding accommodation and students’
perception as to who currently delivers which.
As with last year, there are only two areas where a significant number of students believe that
the City Council provide a service; “Accredit Landlords and Agents”, “Check properties meet
the required standards” and “Legal Rights and Responsibilities as a Tenant”. Students may
have selected these in this way due to these areas appearing to be statutory or regulatory
tasks.
In the majority of these areas, a significant amount of the respondents believed that the
University of Lincoln Students’ Union provides this service especially with regards to conflict
resolution and support with issues. The Advice Centre which was introduced this academic
year could be attributed as to why students responded as they did.
“Accredit Landlords and Agents” was an area which most respondents felt was provided by
the University as opposed to being a partner. Although, this is positive recognition of the
University’s involvement in the scheme, it may be beneficial to advertise to students that the
scheme is a partnership with several stakeholders around the city.
17“Check properties meet the required standards” was an area which respondents did not
believe that the University of Lincoln Students’ Union were involved with, and the majority of
respondents believed that this sat with the City Council, followed by an external provider.
The responses to this question and question twelve, show that students are unaware of what
aspects the Accreditation Scheme cover and potentially who this is. All providers included as
answer options (apart from the Private Provider) are members of the Accreditation Scheme
along with Bishop Grosseteste University and Students’ Union. As most of the tasks we asked
about are tasks of the accreditation scheme, it may be useful to publicise more what tasks
the scheme covers.
Finally, 58% of students think we provide support with accommodation issues. This is support
that we provide, but not openly publicise. The main promotion linked to housing is help to
make the right decision before signing for a tenancy. The fact that our SU Advice Centre
provides support with accommodation issues should be promoted more and we should
ensure that staff are trained to be able to do this.
Recommendation: For the Advice Centre Manager to work with the partners of the City of
Lincoln Accreditation Scheme to encourage improvements to their publicity to students to
raise awareness of the remit of the Scheme, and actions the Scheme has carried out.
Recommendation: For the Advice Centre and Marketing Team to publicise the
accommodation support that the Advice Centre can provide, and ensure that all Advice Staff
are trained to deliver this effectively.
1812) Who do you think should provide the following services?
2015
University of Lincoln Students’ Union Private provider City Council
Legal Rights and Responsibilities as a Tenant 27% 32% 14% 27%
Help find your accommodation 34% 60% 4%1%
Conflict resolution with housemates 21% 66% 12%1%
Support with accommodation issues 29% 61% 8%2%
Check properties meet the required
31% 30% 11% 28%
standards
Accredit landlords and agents 40% 37% 8% 15%
Information on choosing accommodation 45% 51% 3% 1%
2016
Legal rights and Responsibilities as a Tenant 29% 25% 16% 30%
Help find your accommodation 38% 58% 4%
1%
Conflict resolution with housemates 23% 64% 12%1%
Support wth accommodation issues 34% 57% 8%2%
Check properties meet the required standards 32% 23% 11% 34%
Accredit Landlords and Agents 43% 31% 7% 19%
Information on choosing accommodation 47% 50% 2%
1%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120%
University of Lincoln Students' Union Private Provider City Council
This question shows who the respondents believe should be providing these services as
opposed to the previous question which asks about current providers.
In comparison to 2015, the data shows that up to 5% more of respondents of this year’s
survey believe that the University of Lincoln should provide more of the services. However,
on only three of these areas the University of Lincoln is the preferred provider in comparison
to the University of Lincoln Students’ Union, and only one of these three is the University is
the preferred provider over all (“Accredit Landlords and Agents”). For the two areas of “Legal
rights and responsibilities as a Tenant” and “Check properties meet the required standards”
the City Council had been chosen as the preferred option by the majority of respondents.
The University of Lincoln Students’ Union was selected by the majority of respondents to
provide “help find your accommodation”, “Conflict resolution with housemates”, “Support
19with accommodation issues” and “information on choosing accommodation”. These areas
have been worked on by the Advice Centre this year and is testament to the work that has
taken place this year as well as recognition by students of the Advice Centre values to help
and support.
There has been a high level of partnership work between the Advice Centre and the University
Accommodation Team in order to provide help to find student accommodation with events
such as the Housing Fayre, something which appears to be recognised by students when
looking at the data above. This is a partnership that should be encouraged to help students
face these tasks with ease.
Recommendation: Publicise the accommodation support that the Advice Centre can provide,
and ensure that all Advice Staff are trained to deliver this effectively.
Recommendation: To continue building upon the partnership between the University of
Lincoln Students’ Union Advice Centre and the University Accommodation Service.
20You can also read
