Renters' Rights Act: Student accommodation

The Renters’ Rights Act will come into force on 1 May 2026.  It introduces significant changes to England’s private rented sector, including the abolition of both assured shorthold tenancies and Section 21 “no-fault” evictions. Tenancies will become rolling, periodic contracts, with landlords having to rely on specific legal grounds under Section 8 of the Housing Act to regain possession and tenants having the flexibility to end their tenancy at any time by giving two months’ notice. There are also significant changes to the rent review process and the ability to accept rent in advance.

Purpose built student accommodation

The Government has long confirmed its intention for purpose built student accommodation to be exempt from the provisions of the Renters’ Rights Act (allowing fixed term common law tenancies to be granted) but there has been little detail on the exact mechanism and extent of that exemption until recently. 

On 20 March 2026, the Government published The Student Accommodation (Miscellaneous Provisions) (England) Regulations 2026 to allow for the formal exemption from the Renters’ Rights Act of accommodation that is either:

• occupied solely or principally by students at an educational establishment which is a member of one of the approved codes and that educational establishment manages or controls the building; or 
• occupied solely or principally by students at an educational establishment which itself might not be a code member, but the building is managed or controlled by a different educational establishment which is a code member.

The approved codes are:

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

Transitional arrangements

The above exclusion does not have retrospective effect, such that existing assured shorthold tenancies / student residence agreements that are currently in place to the end of the 2025/2026 academic year will not automatically benefit from the above exemption and will, absent positive action, be caught by the provisions of the Renters’ Rights Act. 

In order to prevent those shorthold tenancies / student residence agreements being caught by Renters’ Rights Act, owners and/or operators of student accommodation must: 

• ensure the owner / operator / manager of the property is a member of The ANUK/Unipol Code of Standards for Larger Developments for student accommodation not managed and controlled by educational establishments dated 27th February 2026 
• for all ASTs/SRAs currently in place to the end of the current academic year, do both of the following on or before 31 May 2026: 

1. send a ground 4A Notice (by way of Form 3A): read more here
2. (assuming a written existing assured shorthold tenancy / student residence agreement is already in place) send a RRA Information Sheet: read more here