Student Lettings

The Renters' Rights Act is one of the most significant changes to the private rented sector in over 30 years. It makes significant changes to the way most tenancies work, including:

• Making tenancies periodic from the outset so that tenants can serve notice at any time;
• Prevent landlords from taking more than a month's rent at any time;
• Abolishes Section 21 notices so that landlords must rely on specific possession grounds;
• Introduces new possession grounds for Section 8 notices;
• Requires landlords to provide tenancies in writing with specific information;
• Bans landlords from taking rent before the tenancy is signed and accepting offers to pay more than the advertised rent;
• Introducing a new landlord database and PRS ombudsman
• Extending the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector. 

How the Renters' Rights Act impacts on student landlords

Student landlords are affected by all of the changes, but they face particular challenges from:

• The ban on fixed terms,
• The abolition of Section 21 and
• The prohibition of rent in advance under the Renters' Rights Act.

This is because they need to be able to reliably let the property at the start of each academic year - something that may become more challenging with rolling tenancies and the abolition of Section 21. If the start of the academic year is missed then the property will either need to be left vacant or it will have to be let to non-students in the future, reducing the number of homes available to let to students.

Larger rent in advance payments are also much more common in student lettings as it helps tenants with no credit history and no guarantor to access housing. 

When will the Renters' Right Act apply to my tenancy?

The Renters' Rights Act started to apply to tenancies from 1 May 2026. This is known as the commencement date.

Now that this date has passed, you can no longer offer assured shorthold tenancies, offer tenancies with a fixed term or serve Section 21 notices.

Since 1 May 2026, all existing assured shorthold tenancies became periodic assured tenancies and most of the Renters' Rights Act started applying to them. This means that as of May 1st:

• Your tenants can now give two month's notice to end the tenancy;
• You can no longer serve a Section 21 notice;
• You can only increase rent via a Section 13 notice;
• You must respond to requests for pets within 28 days normally and you may not refuse without a good reason.

However, existing tenancies do have some different rules that you should be aware of:

• You may still require that rent be paid in advance of the rental period if your tenancy asked for it.
• You do not have to provide a written statement setting out key terms if your original tenancy was at least partly in writing. Instead, you will have to provide the Government-produced information leaflet by 31 May 2026. This leaflet is available to download here. 
• You may apply to court following a Section 21 notice served before 1 May 2026 until 31 July 2026 or until the notice runs out (whichever is sooner).  

What is an existing tenancy?

An existing tenancy is any tenancy is entered into (ie it is signed and agreed) before the Renters' Rights Act commenced on 1 May 2026. Any tenancy signed before that date, even if the tenants move in months into the future after commencement, would be an existing tenancy. 

How do I end my existing tenancy ahead of the 2026/27 academic year?

With a new set of students coming in for the next academic year, you will need vacant possession before they arrive. This may require you to serve an appropriate possession notice if your tenants haven't confirmed they are leaving. 

Because of the time limit on the transitional provisions, the best notice to serve will depend on when your current fixed term ends. 

If the current fixed terms ends on or before 30th July

It will usually be best to have served a Section 21 notice to expire on the last day of your current fixed term. This notice must be served before 1 May 2026. If you have not done this by 1 May, it is now too late and you should follow the guidance below for fixed terms ending on or after 31 July instead.

Once served, provided the notice is valid, the tenancy will continue as an assured shorthold tenancy and remain a fixed-term tenancy until the end of the Section 21 notice. 

This notice can be served whether your tenancy is a HMO or not. 

If the tenants do not move out, you must apply to court for possession by 31 July 2026 or the notice will expire and the tenancy will become an assured periodic tenancy. 

If the current fixed-term ends on or after 31st July

In these cases, you are not be able to serve a valid Section 21 notice, or act upon that notice, before the transitional rules expire on July 31st, so a Section 21 notice will not be usable.

In these cases, if your property is a HMO and it is let to students, then you can serve a Section 8 notice and include the new student possession ground (4A) from 1 May 2026. You must meet the conditions below to use this ground. 

If your property is not a HMO, then you will not have access to Ground 4A, and there is no specific ground you can use to end the tenancy. You should probably not finalise any tenancy agreement for the next academic year until you are certain that your current tenants are leaving the property.

Recognising that the the student sector needs to be able to reliably regain possession each academic year, the Government has introduced a new possession ground (4a) that can be used to replace one set of students with another in a house in multiple occupation (HMO).

Requirements for using Ground 4a

Ground 4a can be included on a Section 8 notice from 1 May 2026, but only if you meet all the conditions for its use.

• The tenancy is an assured tenancy.
• The property is let as a house in multiple occupation (at least three people, at least two of whom are unrelated). This can be let on a room-only basis or as a joint tenancy.
• The tenancy was signed less than six months before the tenants could occupy the property under the tenancy agreement or it is an existing tenancy entered into before 1 May 2026. 
• All the tenants in the property meet the ‘student test’ (see below)
• The landlord intends to relet the property to another group of students
• The landlord requires possession between 1 June and 30 September.
• The landlord has met the prior notice requirement (see below).

In addition to this, any security deposit must be protected in a Government-approved scheme and the prescribed information given to all of the tenants before a possession order can be granted on the basis of this ground. 

The 'student test' for Ground 4a

To make use of Ground 4a all of your tenants must meet the student test. This means that your tenants must be full-time students on a recognised course of study when the tenancy is entered into, or will become so during their studies.

The NRLA student tenancies state that by signing the tenancy, the tenants confirm they meet this test, or will do during the tenancy. 

Meeting the prior notice requirement

Before you can serve a valid Section 8 notice you must first state that you can use Ground 4a.

If the tenancy is entered into on or after May 1st 2026: Before the tenancy is entered into, the landlord must notify the tenants in writing that they may require possession under Ground 4a because –

• At the start of the current tenancy, all tenants met the ‘student test’, and
• The landlord intends to relet to a new group who meet the student test.

The NRLA include this statement in our student tenancy agreement templates below.

If the tenancy was entered into before 1 May 2026: by 31 May 2026, the landlord must notify the tenants in writing that they may require possession under Ground 4a because -

• At the start of the current tenancy or at the point the notice is served, all tenants met the ‘student test’, and
• When the landlord next lets the property, they intend to do so to a new group who meet the student test.

Minimum notice period when using Ground 4a: 

The Government has announced that for a short time, Ground 4a will have a shorter notice period to allow landlords of existing tenancies to regain possession ahead of the next academic year. 

If you are serving a Section 8 notice between 1 May and 31 July 2026, your tenancy was signed before 1 May 2026, and it only includes Ground 4A, then your minimum notice period will be two months long.  

In any other case, you must give at least four months' notice on your Section 8 notice when you include Ground 4a.

My tenancy is not a HMO, can I use the new possession ground?

The new possession ground is only available if the property is occupied by three or more people, at least two of whom aren't related to each other.

In practice, this means that if you have a one or two bedroom property you will have to consider:

• Whether the property can be moved into the general rental market? For example, would young professionals be an attractive option for you.
• Could you let one room to a couple and another to their friend? Provided all three are full time students, this would mean the property is a HMO and could give you access to Ground 4a.

If not then you may have to consider letting the property without access to the student possession ground. If you do decide to let it without the student possession ground, then you can find suitable tenancy templates at the link below. 

The NRLA aims to support student landlord members by publishing a suite of documents and guides once the necessary regulations have been published. This includes new student tenancy templates, compliance checklists, required information and notices to students. 

All of the templates you need to comply with the Renters' Rights Act are now available exclusively to members, including a new assured periodic tenancy template for student landlords and pet policy documents to help make your property management as smooth as possible.

You can select whether you want to receive email updates about the latest documents from the member preferences tab in your account. 

The NRLA provides a suite of documents and guides to ensure our student landlord members are compliant with the Renters' Rights Act. This includes:

• The new tenancy agreements and the standalone Ground 4A notice available on this page
• Detailed guidance and templates for existing tenancies
• Forms and guidance for handling pet requests
• New documents before the tenancy starts, including a Renters' Rights Act-ready tenancy application form, holding deposit agreement, and deed of guarantee

We are adding to and developing our documents even now after the act has come in to force. You can select whether you want to receive email updates about the latest documents from the member preferences tab in your account. 

What is Purpose Built Student Accommodation?

For the purposes of the Act, PBSA is a building which is:

• Occupied solely or principally by students at an educational establishment; and
• The landlord, a person appointed to act on the landlord’s behalf, or a person appointed to discharge management functions for the building, is a member of an approved code. 

The approved codes are:

• ANUK/Unipol Code of Standards for Larger Developments for student accommodation managed and controlled by educational establishments (5th September 2024);
• Universities UK/GuildHE Accommodation Code of Practice for Student Housing (11th March 2025)

Buildings that meet this criteria will be exempt from the new assured periodic tenancy regime from 1st May 2026, meaning they will be able to offer fixed-term non-assured tenancies.  

However, please note that PBSA tenancies that were agreed before 1st May 2026 are not exempt from the Renters' Rights Act. They converted into Assured Periodic Tenancies on 1st May and will have to follow the rules. This includes issuing the Information Sheet to existing tenancies.

These pre-existing tenancies are able to make use of a slightly more flexible version of Ground 4A. For these tenancies, Ground 4A can be used even if the property is not an HMO, and the notice period does not need to end between June and September. 

How do private landlords qualify as PBSA?

For the most part, they won't be able to. Membership of the code of practice is only available to larger buildings which are defined in the Code as:

'A development where 15 or more students live in one building in rooms off a central corridor, in cluster flats, or in self-contained flats.'

Consequently, almost all off-street student housing does not qualify and and must issue Assured Periodic Tenancies instead. 

If your individual property could qualify, you should speak to an agent who is a member of the code and employ them to manage the property for you, in line with the requirements of the Code of Practice.