ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the particular issue of accreditation of student accommodation, especially with regard to its large scale provision by commercial providers. Students have become a key demand group in an increasingly commercialized sub-sector of the private rented sector (PRS). The increasing level of participation of commercial landlords in the specialist housing market prompted their research in order to establish the potential impact accreditation schemes might have on the student housing market and the PRS. Perhaps the most prominent bodies contributing to the development of accreditation schemes are Unipol and Accreditation Network UK (ANUK). The primary functions of ANUK have included the facilitation, development and support of good practice in accreditation. Within the East Midlands local authorities follow the ANUK policy of not requiring landlords to register all their properties on becoming a member of an accreditation scheme and actively encourage landlords to include other properties at a later date.
