Student lets under the Renters' Rights Act: what changed, and whether students are still worth it

In England, the student-let exemption is narrow, and ordinary student HMOs are not outside the Renters’ Rights Act just because the tenants are students. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland now sit in different places, so the English Ground 4A and PBSA rules should not be treated as UK-wide.

Are student lets exempt from the Renters' Rights Act?

Student lets in England are not generally exempt from the Renters’ Rights Act: from 1 May 2026, the clear exemption is for private purpose-built student accommodation signed to the specified ANUK/Unipol code, while ordinary student HMOs and student houses stay inside the Act. The statutory instrument says that where the student tenant is in accommodation where the landlord or manager is a member of the new code, “that tenancy will not be an assured tenancy”, and the explanatory memorandum is plainer: “this instrument exempts providers of PBSA from the assured tenancy system introduced by the RRA if they are signed up to a specific government approved Code of practice.” That answers whether the new tenancy law applies to student accommodation: it applies to normal student houses, but not to qualifying PBSA. Scotland has no Ground 4A equivalent; ordinary student HMOs stay inside the 2016 Act, while halls and code-style institutional PBSA sit outside private residential tenancies. Wales keeps occupation contracts. Northern Ireland is outside the Act.

What has changed for student tenancy agreements?

Student tenancy agreements in England changed because assured student tenancies can no longer rely on a fixed academic-year end date: from 1 May 2026, fixed-term wording in an assured tenancy has no effect, existing private assured tenancies converted, and the tenant can normally leave on at least two months’ notice unless a shorter notice period is agreed in writing. The Act removes terms that provide “for a tenancy to be a fixed term tenancy”, and the government roadmap says the change “will apply to both new and existing tenancies and will come into force on 1 May 2026.” For student HMOs, that means the agreement no longer guarantees a clean September handback just because the contract was written for one academic year. Private PBSA is different only for new qualifying code-member lets, because the government says the PBSA exemption “is not retrospective” and “will not apply to pre-existing tenancies in private PBSA.” Wales can still use fixed-term standard occupation contracts, and Northern Ireland fixed terms still end on the agreed date.

Can you still get a student HMO back between academic years?

Yes, in England you can still get a student HMO back between academic years by using mandatory Ground 4A, but only where the property “is in an HMO or is an HMO”, the possession date falls between 1 June and 30 September, the tenancy was not agreed more than six months before it started, and the landlord serves the required section 8 notice. Ground 4A is the specific student-let ground for the whole house problem: the statute requires that “the relevant date falls within the period beginning with 1 June and ending with 30 September in any year”, and government guidance adds that “you cannot use this ground to evict your tenants if the tenancy was agreed more than 6 months before the tenancy started.” The default notice period is four months before applying to court. For existing tenancies in the 2026 transition, the special two-month Ground 4A notice window ran from 1 May to 30 July 2026, not 31 July.

Is it still worth letting to students rather than young professionals?

No law defines whether letting to students is worth it, and the market numbers do not show a clear student yield premium: student postcodes averaged 7.04% gross yield in July 2024, while all newly acquired buy-to-let in England and Wales averaged 7.1% in 2024. Paragon reported that “Property in student postcodes across the UK achieved an average yield of 7.04% in July 2024”, while Hamptons reported that “the average gross yield on a newly acquired buy-to-let in England and Wales hit a record high of 7.1%” in 2024. The real student advantage is no longer the fixed academic-year tenancy; in England that has gone for assured private lets. The remaining advantages are operational: group demand, predictable seasonal marketing, Council Tax treatment where everyone is a full-time student, and Ground 4A for HMOs. Against that sit summer voids, more intensive turnover, and the need to actively manage possession dates. Abodient can hold each tenancy’s start and end dates, deposit scheme and property compliance records, which matters most when student turnover is concentrated into one summer window.

How many void days between tenants is normal for a student let?

A normal student-let void is not set by law, but in many university cities a 6–12 week summer gap is treated as typical, while 21 days is closer to the reported England average across all lets rather than student-only lets. Ground 4A does not create a required vacancy period; it only requires the possession date to fall “within the period beginning with 1 June and ending with 30 September in any year.” The practical worry point is therefore commercial rather than statutory: a September start after a July move-out can easily mean eight or more empty weeks, and an unplanned July-to-September gap is now more painful because the tenant’s notice right makes the old fixed academic-year rent stream less certain. In England, an empty student house usually also creates Council Tax exposure because “You’ll usually have to pay Council Tax on an empty home”, subject to any local discount. Scotland differs: an unoccupied dwelling last occupied by a student can remain exempt for under four months after the last occupation day.

Last reviewed August 2026.

Sources

• Housing Act 1988 Schedule 1 paragraph 8 — “A tenancy which is granted to a person who is pursuing, or intends to pursue, a course of study provided by a specified educational institution if—” Source
• Assured Tenancies and Agricultural Occupancies (Forms) (Amendment) and Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 1 and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026 — “As a result, where a tenant is pursuing or intends to pursue a course of study provided by a specified educational institution and the landlord, a person appointed to act on the landlord’s behalf or a person appointed to discharge management functions in respect of the building which comprises the dwelling-house or in which the dwelling-house is situated is a member of the new code of practice, that tenancy will not be an assured tenancy.” Source
• S.I. 2026/327 explanatory memorandum — “Therefore, this instrument exempts providers of PBSA from the assured tenancy system introduced by the RRA if they are signed up to a specific government approved Code of practice.” Source
• S.I. 2026/327 explanatory memorandum — “As the exemption is not retrospective, it will not apply to pre-existing tenancies in private PBSA.” Source
• Renters’ Rights Act 2025 section 1 — “(a)for a tenancy to be a fixed term tenancy, or” Source
• GOV.UK Renters’ Rights Act implementation roadmap — “This will apply to both new and existing tenancies and will come into force on 1 May 2026.” Source
• Renters’ Rights Act 2025 section 20 — “(ii)in the absence of agreement under sub-paragraph (i), not less than two months before the date on which the notice is to take effect;” Source
• Welsh Government standard occupation contracts guidance — “This will either be a fixed term standard contract or a periodic standard contract.” Source
• nidirect private rent and tenancies — “When a fixed term private tenancy comes to the end of the period of time agreed at the outset, the landlord can end the tenancy.” Source
• Renters’ Rights Act 2025 Schedule 1 paragraph 10 — “(a)the dwelling-house is in an HMO or is an HMO,” Source
• Renters’ Rights Act 2025 Schedule 1 paragraph 10 — “(e)the relevant date falls within the period beginning with 1 June and ending with 30 September in any year, and” Source
• GOV.UK grounds for possession guidance — “You must give 4 months’ notice before you can apply to the court for a possession order to evict your tenant.” Source
• S.I. 2026/421 regulation 6 — “This regulation applies if, during the period beginning with 1st May 2026 and ending with 30th July 2026, a landlord under an existing tenancy (or in the case of joint landlords, at least one of the landlords) serves a notice under section 8(2) of the 1988 Act (notice of proceedings for possession) and that notice specifies Ground 4A in Schedule 2 to that Act(1).” Source
• Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 section 44 — “A tenancy which is a private residential tenancy may not be brought to an end by the landlord, the tenant, nor by any agreement between them, except in accordance with this Part.” Source
• GOV.UK assured periodic tenancies — “Assured periodic tenancies cannot have an end date, even if you’re a student.” Source
• Welsh Government Renting Homes FAQs for landlords — “Under the new law a fixed term standard contract can be agreed for any length of time.” Source
• Scottish Government PBSA and student housing research — “However, students living away from home in the HMO private rented sector would be covered by the new tenancy arrangements, creating a division in rights and law depending on what form of accommodation students choose (or can access).” Source
• GOV.UK Council Tax discounts for full-time students — “Households where everyone’s a full-time student do not have to pay Council Tax.” Source
• Paragon Bank student yield press release — “Property in student postcodes across the UK achieved an average yield of 7.04% in July 2024, a figure that has risen from 6.12% in the same period two years ago.” Source
• Hamptons Market Insight Spring 2025 — “In 2024, the average gross yield on a newly acquired buy-to-let in England and Wales hit a record high of 7.1%, up from 6.1% in 2019.” Source
• GOV.UK Council Tax on second homes and empty properties — “You’ll usually have to pay Council Tax on an empty home, but your council can decide to give you a discount - the amount is up to them.” Source
• Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1997 Schedule 1 — “(c) in respect of which less than 4 months have passed since the last occupation day.” Source
• RentalYield.uk student buy-to-let guide — “In many cities, students vacate in June or July, and new tenants arrive in September or October, leaving a 6-12 week void window each year.” Source
• Property Reporter void-period report — “The average void period currently stands at 21 days, down three days from the May peak of 24 days.” Source