Recovering possession of student lettings in the private rented sector following the Renters Rights Act 2025

The Renters’ Rights Bill finally received Royal Assent on the 27 October 2025.  The Bill is now an Act of Parliament known as the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (‘the Act’).  Most of the provisions in Part 1 of the Act relating to tenancy reform will come into force on commencement date. The commencement date is expected to be in around spring 2026.

The changes introduced in the Act affect student landlords and their lettings in the private rented sector. Recovering possession of student lettings once the Act is in force will not be the same as before.

Current Position

Many landlords letting to students are currently letting under fixed term assured shorthold tenancies. The length of their tenancy agreement with the student usually aligns with the academic year and comes to an end before the next academic year is due to start.

The next cohort of students is usually signed up well in advance and sometimes rent is paid many months in advance.

Student landlords can currently serve section 21 notices to recover possession where students do not leave at the end of the academic year. However, this is set to change.

What is changing?

All assured shorthold tenancies will convert to assured tenancies and continue periodically until terminated by either party. There will no longer be a fixed term for a set period aligning with the academic year meaning that the tenancy will continue indefinitely until it is ended by either party.

A landlord wishing to end their agreement with the student will need to recover possession by relying on one of the grounds for possession in the Act unless both parties agree to terminate the agreement by mutual surrender. It will also be possible for the student to serve two months’ notice to quit at any time during the tenancy to bring the tenancy to an end should they wish to do so.

There will be a ban on rent in advance meaning that landlords cannot accept rent in advance before a tenancy agreement is entered into and can only take up to one month’s rent once the tenancy is executed but before it starts.

The Act introduces a new mandatory ground for possession, Ground 4A, allowing student landlords to recover possession from students in a House of Multiple Occupation (‘HMO’) if certain conditions are met.

What are the conditions under new Ground 4A?

• The dwelling-house is in an HMO or is an HMO –An HMO means a property rented by at least three people who are not from the same household. It does not mean the property has to be a licensable HMO. If the Property is let to 1 or 2 students and is not an HMO then the landlord will not be able to rely on this ground.
• The tenant meets the student test when the tenancy is entered into – The student test is defined in ground 4A and requires the tenant to be a full-time student at that time or requires the landlord to reasonably believe at the time the tenancy is entered into that the tenant would become a full-time student during the tenancy. If the student test is not met, then the landlord cannot use this ground to seek possession.
• The landlord must give a written statement before the tenancy is entered into of their wish to recover possession under this ground. – If no written statement is given of the landlord’s intention to rely on this ground, then the landlord will not be able to rely on it. Further, any landlord currently letting to students on assured shorthold tenancies that will convert to assured tenancies and wants to rely on ground 4A must give a written statement of terms within one month of the commencement date of the Act.
• The landlord must give 4 months’ notice to recover possession under this ground and the notice seeking possession must expire between 1 June and 30 September.
• To recover possession under this ground the landlord must intend to let to a tenant who meets the student test on the next occasion. – If the landlord is considering letting to non-students or someone who does not meet the student test then they will not be able to rely on this ground.
• Landlords will not be able to use this ground if the tenancy was entered into more than 6 months before the start date– This is to discourage landlords and students agreeing tenancies early in the academic year.

The new ground 4A comes with its own set of stringent conditions. Any landlord failing to meet the conditions will not be able to rely on ground 4A to recover possession from their students. The landlord will need to consider other grounds of possession in the Act if possession is sought. Some student landlords may choose to forgo relying on new ground 4A particularly where they wish to continue signing students up earlier in the academic year.

There are strict repercussions for any student landlord relying on a possession ground knowing the landlord would not be able to obtain a possession order on that ground or being reckless as to whether the landlord would be able to do so.  If the student then leaves within 4 months of the ground being relied on, then the landlord will be committing an offence and could face hefty fines and potential rent repayment order applications from the tenants. Particular care will need to be taken when communicating with tenants about their departure if the landlord has decided not to rely on Ground 4A, for example, if they have continued to enter into tenancy agreements more than 6 months before they are due to start.

Conclusion

The Renters’ Rights Act is to transform the student lettings sector and as such it is very important for any private landlords letting in the student lettings market to get on top of the upcoming changes now

My colleague Sarah Cummins and I have a virtual event on 27^th Nov 2025 at 1pm to 2pm on managing change in student lettings after the Renters Rights Act 2025. This session will focus on explaining the upcoming changes for student accommodation providers.

Visit the link in the description for more information

If you need help navigating the new legal landscape, please contact our expert housing team on 020 7940 4060 or email us at mail@anthonygold.co.uk.