Student Lets and the Renters’ Rights Act: What Landlords Need to Know
Published on September 30, 2026 by Sarah Mac
Student lets have traditionally operated differently from much of the private rented sector. Tenancies tend to follow the academic year, with groups of students moving in and out at broadly predictable times.
The introduction of the Renters’ Rights Act has changed some important parts of that familiar model. Since 1 May 2026, most private student tenancies have been subject to the same new assured periodic tenancy system as the wider private rented sector.
However, the legislation also recognises some of the particular challenges of the student rental market. Here’s what landlords need to know.
How has the Renters’ Rights Act changed student tenancies?
One of the biggest changes introduced by the Renters’ Rights Act is the move away from fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs).
Existing ASTs became assured periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026, while new assured tenancies created from that date are also periodic. This means they run on a rolling basis, such as monthly, rather than having a fixed end date.
For student landlords, that represents a significant change. Previously, a tenancy might have been arranged for a specific academic year, with an agreed start and finish date. Under an assured periodic tenancy, there is no contractual end date.
Students can generally end an assured periodic tenancy by giving their landlord two months’ notice.
There is an important exception for some purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA), including private halls. Where qualifying private PBSA providers belong to an approved government code, their accommodation can sit outside the assured tenancy system and may continue to use fixed-term arrangements.
The Government provides further guidance on renting as a university student.
What happened to Section 21 for student landlords?
Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions were abolished on 1 May 2026.
Previously, a student landlord could potentially use Section 21 to regain possession of a property at the end of a fixed term without having to demonstrate that the tenant had breached their tenancy.
That option no longer exists. A landlord who wants to recover possession must use an applicable ground for possession and follow the Section 8 process.
This created an obvious problem for the student rental market. If tenancies no longer automatically finish at the end of the academic year, how can landlords regain properties that they intend to let to a new group of students?
That is where Ground 4A comes in.
What is Ground 4A for student HMOs?
Ground 4A is a new possession ground specifically designed to accommodate the annual cycle of student lettings.
It can allow a landlord to regain possession of a property occupied by students so that it can be let to another group of students for the following academic year.
However, it isn’t a general possession ground that applies to every student let. Several conditions need to be met.
Among them:
- the property must be a house in multiple occupation (HMO), or form part of one;
- the tenants must meet the full-time student test;
- where there is more than one tenant, all the joint tenants must meet that test;
- the landlord must intend to let the property to another qualifying student tenant;
- the tenants must have been given a written statement before entering the tenancy explaining that the landlord may wish to recover possession using Ground 4A;
- the tenancy must not have been agreed more than six months before the tenants became entitled to move into the property; and
- the date on which possession is required must fall between 1 June and 30 September.
The usual notice period for Ground 4A is four months.
These conditions make planning particularly important. For example, student landlords who traditionally sign up the following year’s tenants very early need to be aware of the six-month restriction.
You can find the Government’s overview of the Renters’ Rights Act for landlords and the full Ground 4A provisions in the Housing Act 1988.
What if a student property isn’t an HMO?
This is an important distinction.
Ground 4A doesn’t apply simply because the occupants happen to be students. For new tenancies, the property must meet the HMO requirement and the other qualifying conditions.
A landlord with a student let that doesn’t qualify for Ground 4A can’t use this particular ground simply to recover the property for the next academic year. They would need another applicable ground for possession.
Student landlords should therefore establish which rules apply to their particular property and tenancy rather than assuming the new student possession ground will automatically be available to them.
What do the changes mean in practice for student landlords?
The academic cycle hasn’t disappeared, but landlords can no longer rely on a fixed tenancy end date and Section 21 to regain possession ready for the next intake.
That makes good preparation increasingly important.
Landlords intending to rely on Ground 4A need to think about when the tenancy is agreed, ensure the required written information is provided at the outset and allow enough time for the four-month notice period.
Periodic tenancies also give students greater flexibility to leave during the year. Rather than assuming that a group will remain in occupation until a predetermined end date, landlords need to be prepared for tenants to exercise their right to give notice.
Clear tenancy documentation and accurate records therefore remain an important part of managing student properties under the new system.
Keeping accurate records of student properties
With several people potentially sharing a property and new occupants commonly arriving each academic year, having a clear record of its condition can be particularly valuable in a student let.
A detailed inventory and check-in report records the condition, contents and cleanliness of the property at the beginning of the tenancy. At the end, a check-out report provides an updated visual record that can be compared with the original documentation.
This doesn’t determine whether a tenant is responsible for particular damage or whether money should be deducted from a deposit. It does, however, provide independent evidence of how the property has changed during the tenancy, helping landlords, agents and tenants identify what was already present and what has happened since.
Preparing for the new student letting cycle
The Renters’ Rights Act hasn’t brought an end to the traditional student rental market, but it has changed some of the processes landlords have relied upon for years.
For landlords of student HMOs, Ground 4A provides a specific route to recovering possession ahead of a new academic year, provided all the relevant conditions have been met. For other student properties, the position may be different.
Understanding those distinctions, getting the tenancy documentation right and keeping accurate records throughout each tenancy will help landlords adapt to the new system.
SRP Inventories provides professional inventory, check-in and check-out reports, creating a detailed independent record of a property’s condition at the beginning and end of a tenancy.