Safety, maintenance, and reporting in Blackfriars’ accommodation

Guidance on the UUK Accommodation Code, building safety, how to report maintenance requests, and how to raise a complaint about your accommodation.

The UUK Accommodation Code of Practice

The UUK ACOP was developed in 2005 primarily to assist those involved in the management of student accommodation by setting out the main elements of good practice. It covers, amongst other matters, health and safety, maintenance and repair, and relationships between accommodation managers and student tenants. It is also designed to assist students in understanding both the standards and procedures applying to their accommodation and their obligations as tenants or lessees.

• Blackfriars Hall’s accommodation is covered by the Universities UK Accommodation Code of Practice, which sets key standards and offers guidelines on best practice for university housing.  To learn more about the Code, please visit here.
• Learn more about the Code below:

• Read the Accommodation Code of Practice here.

How to report an issue in our accommodation

All repairs, maintenance and pest issues need to be reported promptly to us so that we are able to help you.  No issue is too small to report! – please do not suffer in silence. Please write with your request to bursary@bfriars.ox.ac.uk, or report issues through the Junior Dean (Facilities).

Jobs requiring access to your accommodation

Some repairs cannot be resolved in the room where the fault occurs, e.g., a leak into a bedroom below. In these instances, we may need to access your room without obtaining your permission to prevent delays, interruption to services, or further damage.

How long does it take to get an issue fixed?

We undertake repairs on a priority status from emergency through to non-urgent. We aim to fix emergency repairs within four hours.  If you are having difficulties or experiencing a persistent maintenance issue, please contact the Bursary: bursary@bfriars.ox.ac.uk.  Some repairs involve complex work, such as those requiring coordination between multiple teams, and may take longer to complete. In such cases, it may be necessary to temporarily relocate you so that you can continue to enjoy your time in your accommodation.

Below are some examples of issues, what type of priority they fall under and how long the wait times are:

• Emergency repairs require immediate responses and could potentially endanger your or others’ health and safety, or affect building security.  These are normally carried out within four hours and could be: gas leaks; loss of electrical supply to a building; loss of heating to a building; major water leaks; fire or imminent risk of fire or explosion; the collapse of a structure; fire alarm system failure.
• Urgent repairs don’t present an immediate threat to the health and safety of people but still require a quick response. We would normally expect to carry out 80% of all work within one working day, and 100% within two.  These repairs could be: blocked drains; a broken window (will initially be made safe); malfunctioning locks; loss of heating, hot water or lighting in a room; overflow running; running taps (not dripping); floor covering (trip hazard); emergency exits compromised; room security.
• Non-urgent requests don’t present a threat to health and safety but do impact your living and still need to be fixed. We would normally expect to carry out 70% of all work within 5 working days and 100% of the work in 10 working days. Non-urgent requests could be loss of electrical power at a single socket outlet; one light out (of many) in a room; one radiator not working; adjustment to door closures; dripping taps; window adjustment; plaster repairs.

Routine maintenance checks

Under the UUK code, we are required to carry out routine maintenance checks. If issues are identified during routine inspections, a building maintenance request will be submitted on your behalf. You don’t need to be present during these checks.

Pest control

Blackfriars has a proactive pest control regime with regular visits undertaken by our nominated contractor throughout the year. The contractor also responds reactively to deal with issues that may arise from rodents, flying insects, birds, cockroaches and bed bugs. If you discover any pests, please report them to the Bursary.

Students are advised to maintain good hygiene in all areas of the hall and can minimise attracting pests by disposing of your waste and recycling regularly, keeping kitchen surfaces clean and free of food debris and dirty pots, storing foods appropriately, putting waste in external bin areas and not leaving litter around site.  Help us to keep your environment safe and pest free.

Our accommodation complaints procedure

Blackfriars welcomes all comments and complaints as a means of improving services.  As a small and supportive community, we will endeavour to help you and ensure your complaint is addressed.

We ask all our residents to let us know about their issue informally at first, as close as possible to the point at which it arises. By doing so, this alerts our team so that we can effectively address any issues as quickly as possible. Please feel free to write or speak to a member of the Bursary team (bursary@bfriars.ox.ac.uk), to one of the Junior Deans, or to any member of senior Blackfriars administrative staff.  If the issue persists or the response you received has fallen below your expectations, the next step will be follow the Blackfriars formal complaints procedure, which can be found here.

Confidentiality

All complaints will be dealt with confidentially, though enquiries may have to be made to investigate the matters that are the subject of the complaint. Our ability to respond to your complaint depends on our being able to collect appropriate information from the parties involved in order to investigate properly. We encourage communication through our Junior Deans if you would like to make an informal complaint about our accommodation or facilities without revealing your identity to us.

Harassment

Blackfriars seeks to create a study and living environment in our accommodation that is free of harassment and which protects the dignity of students and staff irrespective of their gender, sexual orientation, racial or ethnic background, religion or disabled status. We regard sexual, racial or personal harassment very seriously and require all students and staff to observe the Hall’s and University’s policies in this area.  Students who believe they are experiencing harassment within their accommodation are advised to raise this with the Junior Dean (Welfare) or another member of the Welfare Team as soon as possible.

Third party complaints

Complaints made by a 3rd party on behalf of another student may be accepted, but we will need written authorisation from the student whom the complaint relates to. The student will be copied into correspondence during the investigation and on any final outcome.

Making a complaint under the Universities UK Accommodation Code of Practice

Blackfriars Hall’s accommodation should comply with the regulations set by the Universities UK Accommodation Code of Practice. If you would like to make a formal complaint about our accommodation under the Code, please refer to the following step by step guide here.

Planned maintenance and your safety

Notification of planned maintenance

When we have to carry out planned maintenance tasks, for example, legionella testing, we will, wherever possible, give you seven days’ notice. We do our best to reduce the impact on you and will not carry out such work during known exam times. When work is to be carried out we will inform you via email to your preferred email address on our system.  Requested repairs and routine notices of fire alarm testing follow on different timelines.

Our right to test and remove any item of electrical equipment

Blackfriars reserves the right to test and remove any item of electrical equipment if suspected of being faulty or dangerous. There is no requirement, nor is it practicable, to carry out tests on resident’s personal appliances. However, all members of staff have a duty of care and must report any portable appliance that they see within the accommodation that shows any sign of damage, or where we need to address any inappropriate use of electrical items. For further information, please contact the Bursary.

Electrical safety

Blackfriars undertakes Portable appliance testing (PAT) on an annual basis for appliances provided by us within your accommodation, and these are labelled as safe. This includes things such as desk lamps, kettles, microwaves and vacuum cleaners. Please report any damaged or faulty appliances to us.  We also carry out fixed wire testing as determined by current regulations.

Electrical appliances brought by students must be electrically safe and of sound design. They should carry an ASTA/BEAB kite mark or an equivalent European safety conformity marking and their use will be at your own risk. Equipment should not be damaged in anyway and should be fitted with the correct fuse and wired correctly with no exposed wiring into a plug. We do not undertake portable appliance testing on student owned equipment. It is your responsibility to ensure your equipment is compliant with the IEE Code of practice. We reserve the right to test and remove any item or electrical equipment if suspected of being faulty or dangerous.  We undertake fire risk assessments and health and safety inspections on a routine basis, and if your electrical equipment is deemed unsafe, it will be removed.

International Appliances

The electrical supply voltage or “mains” is supplied in the UK at 230 volts. Connection to the mains is via a traditional BS1363 13 amp 3 pin plug. Some countries have voltage supplies in the range of 110-120 vols and utilise 2 pin plugs. Electrical appliances of this nature cannot be used in the UK without using a three pin adaptor. Students must not try to use appliances without the correct plug or adaptor. If equipment is believed to constitute a fire or health and safety risk it will be removed.

Fire safety

All Blackfriars housing is periodically and routinely inspected to ensure a high fire safety standard is being maintained. After each inspection, a report is compiled to highlight any significant findings and list issues that need resolving. If you wish to access a copy of the last inspection report for your residence, please contact the Bursary (bursary@bfriars.ox.ac.uk).

Mandatory fire awareness training

We require all residents in our accommodation to watch a short fire safety training video.  The video is very useful and informative and can be accessed at the following link with your Single Sign-On.