Renters Rights - Frequently Asked Questions

What happens: From 1 May 2026 most private rented student homes (houses and flats) move onto rolling contracts - they just carry on month to month until you or the landlord ends them.

• The legal name for these is Assured periodic tenancies - but you only need to remember “rolling contract”

• On 1 May 2026, your fixed-term contract disappears. If you signed a 12-month contract, that 12-month period no longer locks you in. Your tenancy carries on as a rolling month-to-month tenancy from that day. Clauses in your contract that make it fixed-term stop having effect.

• Information from your landlord: If you already have a written tenancy agreement, your landlord doesn't need to issue a new one. Instead, they must provide you with a government-published 'Information Sheet' explaining the changes by 31 May 2026. This Information Sheet will be published by the government in March 2026

• From 1 May 2026, don't assume your tenancy just stops on the date printed in the old contract. If you want to leave around that date, you will normally need to give at least two months' written notice, ending on your rent day. Without that notice, the tenancy usually carries on past the printed end date, and the landlord can argue you still owe rent.
  
  For more information on giving notice see this article from Unipol: https://www.unipol.org.uk/advice/renters-rights-act-2025-advice-for-students/giving-notice-joint-and-individual-tenancies/

• Section 21 Notices: From 1 May 2026 Landlords will no longer be able to use “no fault” eviction notices - the legal name for these is section 21 notices. If your landlord already gave you a section 21 notice before 1 May 2026, it may still work. They cannot give new ones after that date. If you receive a Section 21 notice, seek advice immediately - it does not mean instant eviction, but you should understand your rights and the timeline. The landlord must apply to court by 31 July 2026 or the notice expires.

To make you leave after 1 May 2026, a landlord will usually have to:

• Give you an eviction notice that gives a reason - the legal name is a section 8 notice.

• Show they are using one of the legal reasons in the Act - these reasons are called grounds for possession

• In most cases (including the new student rule Ground 4A) a landlord must give at least four months' notice before they can ask a court to evict you.

• Special rule for student houses (HMOs): If your home is a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) student let and the landlord wants to use the summer eviction rule (Ground 4A) in future, they get a one-month grace period after 1 May 2026 to give you written notice of this. To actually evict you using Ground 4A, they can only do that between 1 June and 30 September. For the transitional period only, landlords on existing tenancies signed before 1 May 2026 can serve just two months' notice (rather than the standard four months), provided the notice is served between 1 May and 31 July 2026. After 31 July 2026, the standard four months' notice applies.

• Tenant's Notice to leave the tenancy: Once you are on the new system in a private rented house or flat, you will normally be able to leave by giving 2 months' notice, as long as the date you move out lines up with your rent day (for most students, that's once a month).

• Joint tenancies: From May 1st 2026, individuals in a joint tenancy will gain the right to bring it to an end if they tell the landlord giving the landlord 2 months' notice. The landlord will then have the option to negotiate with the remaining tenants.

• For more information on giving notice see this article from Unipol: https://www.unipol.org.uk/advice/renters-rights-act-2025-advice-for-students/giving-notice-joint-and-individual-tenancies/

There are two big exceptions:

• University halls are already in a different legal category - they carry on with fixedterm contracts.

• Most big private student blocks that are signed up to an official code (for example Unipol/ANUK Code) - see the information on our SU Advice webpage relating to this type of accommodation and this article from Unipol:https://www.unipol.org.uk/advice/renters-rights-act-2025-advice-for-students/students-in-private-sector-purpose-built-accommodation/

• Rent in advance: If you paid several months' rent in advance under a contract signed before 1 May 2026, the landlord does not have to refund any of that. However, once your tenancy converts to a monthly periodic tenancy on 1 May 2026, the landlord cannot ask you to pay more than one month's rent in advance going forward. Any clause in your original contract requiring future advance payments above this is now unenforceable.

• For more information on rent payment changes see this article by Unipol:https://www.unipol.org.uk/advice/renters-rights-act-2025-advice-for-students/rent-payments-post-renters-rights-act-2025/

What happens: If you've signed a tenancy but not moved in when 1 May 2026 arrives, your situation is treated as an existing tenancy. When you move in, the fixed end date will not lock you in. The agreement runs as a month-to-month tenancy. Even if your agreement shows an end date in June or July, it will not end automatically on that date. From 1 May 2026 it behaves as a rolling monthly tenancy, so you will usually need to give at least two months' written notice ending on a rent day if you want to leave around the end date shown in your current fixed term agreement.

Joint tenancies: From May 1st, individuals in a joint tenancy will gain the right to bring it to an end if they tell the landlord giving the landlord 2 months' notice. If you are on a joint contract and 1 person gives notice to quit, technically that person has given notice for the whole house to be out the property in 2 months' time. This is not ideal if some of the group want to continue to live there. In this situation you are recommended to speak to your landlord and your fellow tenants as soon as possible to see if it's possible for the rest of the group to stay and under what terms. The landlord will then have the option to negotiate with the remaining tenants.

For more information on giving notice see this article from Unipol:https://www.unipol.org.uk/advice/renters-rights-act-2025-advice-for-students/giving-notice-joint-and-individual-tenancies/

Rent in advance: Because you signed before 1 May 2026, the new rent-in-advance cap doesn't affect the agreement you've already entered into — even though you haven't moved in yet. If your contract required several months' rent upfront, the landlord can still enforce that. But once your tenancy begins and converts into a periodic tenancy (as it will automatically after 1 May), the landlord cannot ask for any further rent in advance beyond one month at a time.

For more information on rent payment changes see this article by Unipol:https://www.unipol.org.uk/advice/renters-rights-act-2025-advice-for-students/rent-payments-post-renters-rights-act-2025/

Everything else: All the rules from Scenario 1 above apply to you once you move in. If you are living in an HMO and have a fixed term contract, its fixed term nature disappears. As long as the landlord writes to you and says they intend to use “Ground 4A”, the landlord will need to give you notice to evict you between June and September. During the transitional period (notices served between 1 May and 31 July 2026), this is two months' notice rather than the standard four months. You also gain the right to end the tenancy yourself by giving at least two months' written notice that ends on a rent day - the same rule as in Scenario 1.

What happens: Everything you sign on or after 1 May 2026 has to be a new, monthly “periodic” tenancy. There are no fixed terms - it runs month-to-month from the start Your landlord will need to provide certain information about the tenancy to you in writing. This should be through a written tenancy agreement.

For student House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) lets - The summer eviction rule (Ground 4A) applies on the normal terms:

• The landlord must give you a written statement before you sign saying it's a student let and that they intend to re-let to students

• They can't make you sign more than 6 months before the tenancy starts (so for example if you're moving in September, you can't sign before March)

• Any future eviction claim using Ground 4A has to be timed so the notice falls between 1 June and 30 September

• For more information on rent payment changes see this article by Unipol:https://www.unipol.org.uk/advice/renters-rights-act-2025-advice-for-students/rent-payments-post-renters-rights-act-2025/

Rent in advance: For all new tenancy agreements signed on or after 1 May 2026, the law now caps rent in advance to a maximum of one month's rent once the tenancy is entered into. Landlords or agents cannot legally require larger upfront payments - even if you don't have a UK guarantor. Any attempt to demand three, six, or twelve months' rent in advance would break the law.

For more information on rent payment changes see this article by Unipol:https://www.unipol.org.uk/advice/renters-rights-act-2025-advice-for-students/rent-payments-post-renters-rights-act-2025/

A: Landlords of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) will not be able to require students to leave at the end of an academic year using the new Ground 4A eviction ground if they sign students up more than 6 months before moving-in date. (So, for example, if you're moving in September, you can't sign before March) The government's objective is to stop landlords pressuring students to make a commitment too early, before they have had a proper chance to get to know potential housemates or get more information on their housing options. This does not make signing-up early illegal - it just means that the landlord won't be able to require you to leave between June and September so that the landlord can re-let to students.

In some cases, students want to sign up early, particularly in areas where there is a shortage of certain types of accommodation. Landlords of HMOs may no longer be willing to allow this. Unipol have warned that some landlords may ask students to enter into a pre-tenancy arrangement or ask for a holding deposit, and sign up to the tenancy agreement later, less than 6 months before moving-in date. There are strict rules around the use of holding deposits in the Tenants Fees Act 2019. Always get advice before paying money and always get a receipt if you pay cash.

A: Your landlord will not be able to use Ground 4A (the new student let eviction ground) unless your accommodation IS a house in multiple occupation (HMO) or is IN an HMO. If your accommodation is not an HMO, or in an HMO, your landlord will have to wait for you to give Notice to Quit or find another legal basis for ending your tenancy (e.g. serious rent arrears). Whether a landlord can use Ground 4A on a two-bed property is unclear.

Unipol has claimed that this rule could lead to fewer one- and two-bed properties being available to students in the future. On the other hand, there is no reason why a landlord of a one- or two-bed property should not agree to sign you up early, if you are sure that is what you want.

A: From 1 May 2026, don't assume your current fixed term tenancy just stops on the date printed in the old contract. If you want to leave around that date, you will normally need to give at least two months' written notice, ending on your rent day. Without that notice, the tenancy usually carries on past the printed end date, and the landlord can argue you still owe rent.

Always keep proof of how and when you sent the notice.

For more information on giving notice see this article from Unipol:https://www.unipol.org.uk/advice/renters-rights-act-2025-advice-for-students/giving-notice-joint-and-individual-tenancies/

A: From 1st May 2026, individuals in a joint tenancy will gain the right to bring it to an end if they tell the landlord giving the landlord 2 months' notice. If you are on a joint contract and 1 person gives notice to quit, technically that person has given notice for the whole house to be out the property in 2 months' time. This is not ideal if some of the group want to continue to live there.

In this situation you are recommended to speak to your landlord and your fellow tenants as soon as possible to see if it's possible for the rest of the group to stay and under what terms. The landlord will then have the option to negotiate with the remaining tenants.

For more information on giving notice see this article from Unipol: https://www.unipol.org.uk/advice/renters-rights-act-2025-advice-for-students/giving-notice-joint-and-individual-tenancies/

A: The Renters' Rights Act 2025 changes the rules on pets for assured tenants. From 1st May 2026, an assured tenant has the right to request permission to keep a pet, and their landlord cannot unreasonably refuse.

Important limitations: This only applies once you have moved in, not when you are applying for a property. Landlords can still reject applications from people with pets and can still advertise properties as “no pets”. The government removed provisions that would have allowed landlords to require pet insurance to cover damage.

What this means for you: You can't use this to get a property with your pet. But once you're living somewhere, you can ask to get a pet, and the landlord has to have a good reason to say no. Remember if you keep a pet in your student accommodation, you will be liable for any damage or nuisance it causes. The rules won't apply to lodgers, licensees, prospective tenants or common law tenants. If in doubt get advice.

For more information see this article by Unipol: https://www.unipol.org.uk/advice/renters-rights-act-2025-advice-for-students/your-right-to-request-a-pet-what-you-should-consider/

Landlords of assured tenancies of accommodation that IS a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) (e.g. a 3-bed house-share) or is IN an HMO (e.g. a bed-sit) have the right to claim possession on the student letting ground - known as Ground 4A. If you are letting single-household accommodation on an assured tenancy, or any accommodation on a common law tenancy, Ground 4A does not apply.

Several factors have to be in place for Ground 4A to apply:

• The landlord has to reasonably believe that all the tenants will be, or will become, full-time students during the tenancy.

• The landlord has to give the tenants a written statement that the landlord intends to end your tenancy using Ground 4A, and the landlord must provide this written statement:

  • by 31st May 2026 if the tenant is already in occupation; or

  • not more than 6 months before the tenant would be entitled to collect the keys;

  • with the intention of letting the property to students again when the tenancy ends.

• At least 4 months before the date the landlord wants the tenants to leave, the landlord must serve a 'section 8' notice on the tenants;

• The section 8 notice must be in the prescribed form, and say that the landlord is relying on Ground 4A as the basis for ending the tenancy;

• The date the landlord wants the tenants to leave can only be a date between 1 June and 30 September (inclusive).

Some landlords may want to end tenancies earlier rather than later, to be sure of the property being available for the following year's students.