The National Union of Students (NUS) is campaigning for all accommodation used by students to be subject to a licensing scheme, with regular inspections and guaranteed levels of safety.

But if this is not adopted, the students' union says that its own welfare officers will conduct safety checks and publicly identify any universities which fail - with the further threat of court action.

Gas checks will be included in compulsory safety regulations for shared, rented accommodation

In a submission to the government, the NUS has claimed that it has received reports of university-managed accommodation with insufficient levels of safety for gas and fire.

The government has announced its intention to introduce tighter safety regulations for student housing and other "houses in multiple occupation", including the introduction of a compulsory licensing scheme.

According to the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, people in bed-sits and shared rented accommodation are six times more likely to die in a house-fire than those living in non-shared housing.

Bureaucratic burden

But the Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals (CVCP) has rejected proposals for universities to be included in the licencsing scheme "because of the added bureaucratic burden".

"Licensing would often duplicate certification and regulation already being applied to university accommodation.The added cost of such a burden was estimated in 1995 to be £25m across the sector," said a CVCP spokeswoman.

"If there are local safety concerns they can be taken up with universities' own safety committees and student liaison offices."

The CVCP also says that the safety problems for student accommodation lie with the private sector, rather than university-run property.

TheNUS has condemned the CVCP for seeking an opt-out from licensing for universities, saying that "if they are so confident of the safety standards in halls of residences, then they have nothing to fear from the licensing system".