Purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) and the Renters’ Rights Act 2025

The long-awaited Renters’ Rights Bill finally received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025 and is now an Act of Parliament. While we eagerly await confirmation of when the tenancy reform provisions will come into force, student accommodation providers will be preparing for the impact of the Act on their current lettings and planning for the next academic year. 

Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) providers will be aware that the Act contains an exemption for PBSA tenancies. This is important because it means PBSA providers who qualify will not fall within the new assured tenancy regime and, going forward, will be able to grant common-law tenancies like universities can. 

Common-law tenancies offer certain advantages to student landlords: 

• Fixed-term agreements can continue to be used, aligning with the academic calendar 

• At the end of the fixed term, landlords can regain possession without needing to prove a statutory ground for possession (a court order is still required, but the process is typically more straightforward than using the grounds-based section 8 procedure under the assured tenancy regime) 

• Students can continue to make rental payments in advance 

What is the PBSA exemption in the Renters’ Rights Act?

We still do not have all the detail surrounding the exemption because the Act requires the government to make additional regulations before it takes full effect. However, we do know that the exemption for student lettings contained in paragraph 8, Schedule 1 of the Housing Act 1988 will be broadened to capture non-educational institutions. The new paragraph 8 states: 

• The exemption will apply to tenancies granted to a person who is pursuing or intends to pursue a course of study provided by a specified educational institution. This means a tenancy to a student or an intended student at a university or college that is specified in regulations. 

• The exemption will include tenancies granted by “a specified body of persons” for example, institutions that are non-educational institutions.  Regulations will set out who is specified, and the regulations can do this by reference to members or a class of the members, from time to time, of a housing management code of practice (see further below). 

• The exemption will also apply where a member of a “specified management code of practice” has been “appointed to act on the landlord’s behalf in respect of the tenancy” or “appointed to discharge management functions in respect of the building.” Again, the detail will be in the regulations which can specify types or classes of building and student landlord and specify a person appointed to act on the landlord’s behalf or a person appointed to discharge management functions. 

In summary, the RRA exemption is drafted broadly to cover the wide range of commercial arrangements governing PBSA ownership and operation to capture both property owners and agents involved in the building management provided they are signed up to a specified housing management code of practice. 

What is a specified housing management code of practice?

The key qualifying requirement is membership of a “housing management code of practice” which is to be specified in regulations. 

“Housing management code of practice” is defined in the Act as a code of practice approved by the Secretary of State under section 233 of the Housing Act 2004. For non-educational establishments, the currently approved code is the “ANUK/Unipol National Code for accommodation owned or managed by non educational establishments.”  

In anticipation of the Renters’ Rights Act, the code underwent an interim review earlier this year. A summary of the proposed changes to the code can be found on the National Code’s website which can be viewed here. The National Code’s post states “The draft standards are currently being considered by Government. It is the current understanding that the ‘approved’ Code will become operational at the point when the Renters’ Rights legislation is enacted, after an implementation period.”  

To benefit from the exemption, the PBSA provider will also have to meet the Code’s entry criteria. 

When will this come into force?

The Act states that the section relating to the student lettings exemption will come into force 2 months after Royal Assent. However, the exemption will only take effect when the required regulations are made. While the timings for this have not been confirmed it is anticipated that this will coincide with the implementation of the main tenancy reforms.  

Current predictions are that this will be sometime in Spring 2026, falling within the current academic year. 

What this means for current student contracts?

It is understood that the PBSA exemption will not apply retrospectively to PBSA tenancies already in existence when the tenancy reform changes come into force. The exemption will only apply to new tenancies created after the commencement ate. This means there will be a one-off transitional period for PBSA providers who would otherwise qualify for the exemption. On the commencement date, current assured shorthold tenancies will convert to assured periodic tenancies with the rest of the private rented sector. They will not convert automatically to common-law tenancies. 

The Act contains transitional provisions to assist PBSA providers transition out of the assured regime. The transition provisions in Schedule 6 of the Act contain a modified Ground 4A possession ground that eligible PBSA providers can rely on to seek possession, if required, for existing tenancies. PBSA providers will have to give students a written statement of their intention to rely on Ground 4A within one month of the commencement date. We will be preparing a further post examining the proposed transitional arrangements. 

Preparing for the new law

PBSA providers will therefore need to prepare for both the short-term impact of the Renters’ Rights Act, managing the transitional period, as well as the longer-term shift out of the assured tenancy regime. 

Anthony Gold Solicitors is hosting a webinar “Managing change in student lettings after the Renters’ Rights Act” on 27 November 2025. Join us to discuss getting ready for the changes. Please do submit any questions in advance of the webinar. 

If you are a PBSA provider and need help navigating the new legal landscape, please contact our expert housing team. 

Contact us on 020 7940 4060 or email us at mail@anthonygold.co.uk.