What does the Renters' Rights Act mean for purpose-built student accommodation and other student landlords in England?

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (RRA) received royal assent on 27 October 2025, and is set to bring about significant changes to the private rental sector in England. Our previous Insight provides an overview of the Act’s scope and key provisions for landlords and tenants, such as the abolition of assured shorthold tenancies and prohibition on payments of advance rent.

There are a number of practical, legal and commercial implications for landlords and operators of different types of student housing, depending on what type of accommodation it is and when the tenancies are granted. What should landlords be aware of and how can they prepare?

Purpose-built student accommodation 

For landlords and operators of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA), the RRA will affect existing tenancies and future tenancies differently.

Existing tenancies are those that are in existence at the time the wider changes to the assured shorthold tenancy (AST) regime introduced by the new law come into effect, with future tenancies being those that are entered into after that date.

According to the government's roadmap for implementation of the RRA provisions, the wider changes will come into effect on 1 May 2026.

Future tenancies exemption

For new tenancies, qualifying PBSA landlords benefit from an exemption to the Housing Act 1988, brought in by the RRA. This means they can grant common law tenancies rather than assured periodic tenancies (APTs) under the new regime.

Common law tenancies will not be restricted by the new rules brought in by the RRA, allowing more flexibility for landlords to require fixed-term tenancies and advance rent payments. This enables tenancy agreements to remain aligned with academic years and will allow landlords and operators the ability to take advance rental payments, which can be helpful for international students who find it more difficult to pass credit checks and/or provide guarantors.

While a court order will still be required for the landlord to regain possession if the tenant does not leave voluntarily, this is typically more straightforward than the procedure under the assured tenancy regime as a ground does not need to be established.

The exemption is available for tenancies granted to a person who is "pursuing or intends to pursue" a course of study at a "specified educational institution" and the person appointed to act on behalf of the landlord in respect of the tenancy or to discharge management functions in respect of the property is a member of a "specified management code of practice".

The exemption itself comes into force on 27 December 2025 (being two months after the RRA received royal assent) but it requires regulations to confirm the management code of practice before it can come into effect. The government implementation roadmap indicates that the regulations will also be published on 1 May 2026. Current indications are that the management code will be the ANUK code, which is currently undergoing updates in anticipation of the RRA coming into force.

In addition, the RRA provides the government with further powers to amend or extend the exemption by way of regulations, so it may be this is broadened or further clarified by 1 May 2026.

Given the importance of the timing of commencement and exemptions, both PBSA landlords and operators will need to remain updated on regulatory developments to manage ongoing and future tenancies effectively.

Existing tenancies

Any existing assured shorthold tenancies entered into before 1 May 2026 will automatically convert into assured periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026. This means that previously fixed-term tenancies will be replaced with tenancies that run month to month.

Given the commencement date, this is likely to affect tenancies for the 2025/26 academic year and potentially any future tenancies that have been granted as assured shorthold tenancies during the 2026/27 booking cycle.

Many landlords and operators will have launched this letting cycle using AST forms; they should give further consideration as to whether these are replaced with common law tenancies in due course and/or whether a different approach to advanced letting is required for this cycle.

PBSA assured shorthold tenancies may be able to benefit from transitional provisions allowing recovery of possession under a modified version of the new Ground 4A for possession. This will require qualifying landlords to serve statutory notices within 28 days of the conversion of the tenancy to an assured periodic tenancy. 

What should PBSA landlords and operators do?

• Review existing tenancy agreements to assess whether they fall under transitional arrangements and, if so, if they will benefit from the Ground 4A.
• Prepare to serve statutory notices within the required timelines for existing tenancies.
• Consider letting strategies for the 2026/27 academic year to minimise risk of conversion
• For new lettings, ensure compliance with code membership and contractual terms to benefit from exemptions.
• Prepare new common law tenancy templates which may be granted as soon as the regulations are published, expected 1 May 2026.
• Review management arrangements and contracts (including nomination agreements with universities), to ensure all parties are clear who is responsible for any necessary transition arrangements and that the terms are current with law.

Houses in multiple occupation 

Houses in multiple occupation (HMO) student tenancies will transfer to APTs on 1 May 2026 as there is no exception equivalent to that provided to PBSA lettings.

The Act’s application to student HMOs does, however, introduce a new ground for possession (Ground 4A), which provides landlords with a legal mechanism to regain possession of a property let to students aligned with the academic year. This possession right is exclusive to student HMOs, other than during the transition period, discussed above.

Under this new ground for possession, student landlords effectively have a "no fault" ground. They are required to provide at least four months’ notice for possession, with the notice period expiring between 1 June and 30 September.

In order to benefit from the new Ground 4A process, existing HMO tenancies must comply with strict statutory notice requirements, giving tenants a statutory notice within 28 days of the conversion of the tenancy into an APT (expected to take place on 1 May 2026). 

Given the requirement to provide four months' notice for possession, the earliest this ground may be able to be used for converted tenancies will be September 2026, except where the tenant gives two months' notice to vacate or there is a surrender by mutual agreement.

Landlords should consider reputational matters as well here: an unintended consequence of conversion to the new periodic tenancy may be that students are inadvertently held to tenancies for longer than they were expecting and may not be able to afford that additional rent should they fail to give notice at the right time.

For tenancies granted after 1 May 2026, landlords must provide tenants with written notice at the start of the tenancy, indicating their intention to use Ground 4A for repossession. The tenancy must also not be granted more than six months before its term commencement date in order for Ground 4A to apply.  This brings the HMO letting cycle later in the academic year than current markets and could see a "two tier" system for lettings, with PBSA properties letting up earlier, followed by HMOs later in the year.

What should HMO student landlords do?

• Review tenancies to distinguish those qualifying as HMOs under the Act.
• For tenancies already in existence at 1 May 2026, issue statutory Ground 4A notice within prescribed windows, considering student management and communications given the time constraints this provides.
• For new HMO tenancies entered into after 1 May 2026, ensure they are granted no earlier than six months before the tenancy commences and serve written Ground 4A notices at tenancy commencement.

Other types of student tenancies

Tenancies of studios and one- or two-bed flats or purpose-built properties which do not benefit from the exemption (for example, build-to-rent or mixed use) fall fully within the new assured tenancy regime.

These landlords face increased risk of possession timing misaligning with academic cycles and a potential loss of rental income between terms. Over time, this may mean these units are moved from students to build-to-rent more generally if they cannot be filled mid-cycle.

The prohibition on taking advance rents and the risk of non-payment at the end of tenancy terms, plus increased requirements for possession proceedings also pose challenges for landlords in a student context.

Arrangements based on licences rather than tenancies are unaffected by the RRA. Whether an occupation agreement is a licence rather than a tenancy is a question of fact rather than design. An arrangement which has been granted as a licence but is in fact a tenancy may be subject to the APT regime after 1 May 2026. This emphasises the importance of accurate categorisation and documentation as misclassification may expose landlords to unintended consequences.

What should landlords of other types of student accommodation consider?

• Confirm tenancy status to avoid inadvertent regulatory consequences.
• Evaluate portfolio strategy in light of potential unknown tenancy length and possession timing challenges.
• Consider transitioning structures or tenancy agreements to manage risk.

Osborne Clarke comment

Landlords of student accommodation should begin reviewing their tenancies now to ensure they are prepared to undertake the actions required in order to benefit from the exemption and transitional arrangements that apply to the qualifying tenancies mentioned above.

This review should include: assessing tenancy categories; considering relevant exemptions; and implementing changes to notice, rent setting and letting advance limits.

Monitoring government updates is crucial, as the current Act contains placeholders to be filled by secondary legislation and regulations, particularly regarding codes of practice and specified bodies. 

Summary table: key landlord actions and deadlines by accommodation type

This topic and the RRA more broadly was discussed at Osborne Clarke's webinar on 20 November 2025, "Residential Rental Reform: Preparing for the new landscape" – view recording.