Renters' Rights Act: student housing in a new legal landscape

The Renters' Rights Act promises to transform the rental market, but for students and those who house them, the changes create a complex patchwork of legal rights that will see friends studying at the same university enjoying very different levels of protection depending purely on where they choose to live.

This article touches on some of the key distinctions that will emerge when the Renters' Rights Act comes into force and what they mean for students, landlords and property managers in the student accommodation sector.

The great divide: why your provider might determine your rights

Under the new legislation, student tenants will fall into distinctly different categories with varying levels of protection. Remarkably, students attending the same lectures could find themselves with completely different tenancy rights based solely on their choice of accommodation provider.

The changes will fundamentally alter the Housing Act 1988 framework that currently governs most private tenancies, creating new exemptions and special provisions that segment the student market in unprecedented ways.

The categories of student tenancies

Once the transitional period comes to an end, there will essentially be three categories.

First is university halls or purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA). Certain PBSA providers (if registered under government-approved codes such as ANUK/Unipol) get to sidestep the entire AST overhaul. In essence, these PBSA tenancies will be treated as common law tenancies in the same way as tenancies granted by universities, with only the most basic statutory protection under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977. Landlords will therefore still be able to offer fixed-term tenancies aligned with the academic year and avoid the new rules imposing mandatory rolling tenancies. This exemption extends to deposit protection requirements, as these only apply to assured tenancies.

Second is PBSA where the provider has not signed up to an approved code or general private rental properties (including Build to Rent – an increasingly popular option for some international or postgraduate students). These are the 'full' assured tenancies under the Housing Act 1988 (as amended by  the Renters' Rights Act). They can only be periodic tenancies – with fixed terms not being permitted – and the tenant need only give two months' notice at any time to leave, potentially leading to mid-academic year voids. Landlords on the other hand cannot regain possession without satisfying one of the statutory grounds, potentially leaving them being unable to relet at the start of the next academic year. This is where the end to 'no-fault' evictions may be felt most acutely.

This second category, specifically the private rental property element of it, subdivides further to distinguish properties let by individual buy-to-let landlords (i.e. those capable of occupying the property). Although these will still be assured tenancies, occupiers will be vulnerable to eviction if landlords want to sell or move back in (including during the middle of an academic year).

Third is shared houses owned by investment landlords (i.e. houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), typically occupied by three or more unrelated tenants). These, again, will be assured tenancies but a new Ground 4A under Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 (as amended) will allow landlords to regain possession to make way for the next academic year group. This will only apply if the landlord gives notice to the tenant before the tenancy begins, if the property is let exclusively to full-time students and if the landlord gives four months' notice to the tenant, specifying a date between 1 June and 30 September for them to vacate the property. But note that the student tenants could still choose to end their tenancy during the middle of the academic year.

Transitional period

All ASTs (including student tenancies) which begin before the new Act comes into force will automatically convert to full assured tenancies under the Housing Act 1988 (as amended) on the go live date. In this period, even code subscribing PBSA providers will have existing tenancies converted to assured tenancies.

However, there will be a one-off application of Ground 4A to these transitional tenancies which will encompass both HMOs and code subscribing PBSA providers, as long as notice is given to the student tenants within one month of the relevant provisions of the Renters' Rights Act coming into force – so landlords will need to act quickly and still ensure that they subsequently serve the requisite four month notice under Ground 4A. This one-off transitional application of Ground 4A will not apply to general rental properties let to students (i.e. non-HMOs) nor to PBSA providers who are not subscribed to one of the approved codes.

Conclusion

The divergence is stark. PBSA tenancies stay close to the old rules (with full exemption via the government-approved codes), while HMO and private rental properties face rigid new rules including periodic terms, tougher evictions and potential void risks.

The Renters' Rights Act's approach to student accommodation creates a complex landscape where students receive different protections based on arbitrary distinctions between their housing provider or building type. While the legislation aims to improve tenant rights overall through amendments to the Housing Act 1988, the segmented approach means that understanding the applicable category becomes crucial.

If you're in this market, assess which legal regime applies to your situation, and keep an eye on secondary legislation, as this will continue to shift the landscape of student housing.