The Students’ Union is run by students for students – that means we’re completely dedicated to representing students at Staffs and helping provide what they want from their student experience. That covers everything from advice and support, great venues and events to representation, sports clubs, activities and even a dedicated student media service.
We’re constantly striving to ensure the best possible experience for all students at Staffs and free membership of the Students’ Union is automatic on enrolling at Staffordshire University. That means our students get to have their say in what we do and how we do it.
Staffordshire University Students’ Union is a democratic organisation, working entirely for the benefit of students.
The Students' Union sponsors and supports a diverse range of student-run groups. These include both competitive and recreational sports groups, special interest groups, academic societies and some that we are unable to categorise! You can find out contact details and any info the groups have posted by following the links below.
The Student Advice Centre (SAC) offers confidential and impartial advice on a variety of issues, such as: student finance, academic affairs, student housing, debt management etc. In addition, there are a number of online self help materials which you can access from the Advice Guide.Find out more...
Academic Reps can raise issues when something is wrong or tell the University what works for you and your student experience. If you need advice regarding your course then contact your Academic Rep.Find out more...
Money Doctors is part of the Students’ Union Student Advice Centre. It is free, independent, impartial and confidential. Click on the logo to see how we can help you keep your finances healthy and make your money achieve what you want it to.Find out more...
You can feel safe in the knowledge that the University has a Cop Shop with a friendly campus police officer who is around to answer any questions. You can speak to him about anything from the security of your property, your personal safety or to report a crime.Find out more...
LRV is the Stoke Campus nightclub and holds our regular clubnights such as the ever popular Gobble on a Wednesday night and Super Friday. LRV is the Union’s largest venue with 1300 capacity.Find out more...
Legends and The Lounge are the Union's Beaconside campus venues. The Lounge is a recently refurbished, stylish bar serving great food and coffee as well as the traditional bar refreshments seven days a week. Legends is the Stafford Campus's nightclub and holds our weekly clubnight Mukky Duck as well as regular live music performances. Find out more...
The Ember Lounge is Staffordshire University Students' Union second Stoke Venue. Winner of Best Late Night Venue Midlands and Wales and a Best Bar None award, the Ember Lounge offers something for everybody. Whether it's an early morning espresso to get you ready for the day, a great value lunch or a night of cocktails and entertainment, we aim to deliver. Find out more...
The Squeeze Box has a delicious menu for both breakfast and lunch. For those wanting something healthy, yet tasty, Squeeze Box caters for all with options big and small. There is also a wide variety of hot drinks, with Fairtrade products being used where possible. Find out more...
Verve is Stoke’s newest venue offering students a funky place to relax and enjoy a tasty burger and the creamiest milkshakes. Open all day, students can pop in for food and drink, listen to some music, catch up on the latest magazines and just take a break from the world outside. Find out more...
The Students’ Union is a student-led organisation, and in that spirit endeavours to hire students and harness their skills where possible.
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If you have a rented property in need of repair, you do have rights.
If something’s gone wrong in your house, you probably want it fixed. The first step is obvious – work out whose duty it is to make the repair: it could be yours as the tenant or it could be the landlord’s. If you ask your landlord to make a repair and it's really your own responsibility, you'll just look like an idiot. So, we begin with...
If a repair is quite minor, the chances are it’s your responsibility.
Some examples:
• if a fuse blows, it’s your responsibility to replace it (but if the same fuse blows every week, there’s an electrical fault – get the landlord to act) • if the sink’s blocked, unblock it yourself (either undo the trap under the sink and clean it out or resort to buying a chemical sink unblocker) • if a lightbulb blows, replace it (but if the same bulb blows every week, there’s an electrical fault – get the landlord to act) • if the kettle the landlord provided gets furred up, buy some de-scaler yourself
If something looks minor like this and looks like your responsibility, it probably is. A decent rule of thumb is: would you hire someone to do this job if you were living in a house that you yourself owned? If not, it’s probably your responsibility as a “minor” repair.
Beware of not fulfilling your own responsibilities: if failing to do this were to lead to a bigger problem, the landlord might be able to sue you for negligence. For example: a blockage that freezes in a sink pipe could burst it. Otherwise, it’s your general duty to act responsibly in the house. This means doing things like making sure you agree with the landlord how you leave the house over the vacations – should you turn off the water (in case of burst pipes), or leave the heating on a little (to prevent pipes from freezing up and bursting in winter), or what?
All these responsibilities are based on a general piece of law saying it’s your duty to behave in a “tenant-like manner”. Often, your contract will say this too; but it’s the law even if it’s not in your contract.
That’s the bad news. Now we move on to the landlord’s responsibilities and your options to enforce them.
The landlord isn’t responsible for everything – sometimes a repair job in a rented house is no-one’s legal responsibility; which of course isn’t fair.
There are two principles to guide you in working out whether the landlord has a responsibility:
1) The landlord has a duty to do repairs to keep the house in reasonable condition. So: if the front door rots away and falls off, replacing it is the landlord's job. In particular, it’s the landlord’s duty to keep the fabric of the house repaired and keep the gas, electricity, and water systems in working order (see the Legal References section).
2) The landlord doesn’t start with any obligation at all to make any improvements to the house (e.g. adding window locks) but might end up with some eventually if the council's Environmental Health or Housing Standards department were to feel this justified on Health & Safety grounds.
Now we've sorted all that out, the places you can go to next are:
Practical options - actually getting a repair done
Legal References (for those who really want to know the detail)
Back to Housing index
Back to Advice index