Renters’ Rights Act – 2 bedroom student units?

You would certainly fall foul of your HMO license which will be relevant to a specific address and number of permissable tenants. I assume the annex has a slightly different address to the main house. Could you create internal access from the main house to the annex? I would talk to the Council HMO team first to get their thoughts on whether they would support the idea.

Whether it is an HMO and whether it is an HMO that needs a licence are two different questions. HMOs that don’t need a licence may still fit the requirements for the new repossession ground. They certainly still have to meet all the HMO safety regulations.

…and the tenancy arrangement used makes no difference to the HMO classification.

“…fixed terms may be ended with effect from (say, pick a date) September 2027″ Fixed terms will end on the commencement date, which is likely to be between April and June 2026.”
As you realised, a house converted into 2 flats where each had 2 student occupants would not be a s254 HMO and the use of ground 4A would not be possible.
I think the annex would only be considered part of the same HMO if it is physically connected to the building and shares kitchens/bathrooms etc.
Ground 4A is not the be all and end all of student letting. If the student ignores the notice and makes you go to court, the delay in obtaining possession will prevent you from having the property available for the next student intake.

Reply to the comment left by DPT at 06/11/2025 – 12:52
I fully agree that potentially students might ignore the notice period, but cannot see that is any different to the current (or old!) rules. In reality they want to leave as student rents are usually quite high.

Reply to the comment left by Robert at 06/11/2025 – 13:46
Exactly!

Reply to the comment left by Marlena Topple at 06/11/2025 – 09:56
I am not proposing to breach the number of occupants in the unit. If you have 5 bed 24 Arcadia Avenue (licensed) and 2 bed self contained 2A Arcadia Avenue and you let both to a group of seven this would be a problem with council? I let a 3 bed licenced HMO to 6 medical students for a year where they were doing six month opposing placements and rented another 3 bed house in the other city. Council did not bat an eyelid when they had the explanation.

Reply to the comment left by DPT at 06/11/2025 – 12:52
“Fixed terms will end on the commencement date, which is likely to be between April and June 2026.”

I agree that new fixed terms will almost certainly come to an end on the commencement date, but I was under the impression there would be phasing in of the other changes.

Say, for example, a 1 May 2026 commencement date is picked. Do you honestly expect that the government will decree that a fixed period 30 June 2026 end on a current tenancy will become invalidated, or instead there will a phasing in, or a grace period, even if quite short.

Of course you cannot predict the ways governments move. I mean some Right Honourables believe they should not pay the correct amount of stamp duty and that obtaining a property licence is optional.

Reply to the comment left by Robert at 06/11/2025 – 14:13
Since the definition of HMO looks at how many people in different households are living in the home, it’s not surprising that the council didn’t care that you had six medical students named on an agreement that allowed three at a time to live there, as there were never five or more living there at the same time (so that wouldn’t require an HMO licence unless an additional licence requirement has been implemented by the council).

The reader’s question asked if letting two properties out to a group of four, when each of the properties is not an HMO because only two people live in each of them, would mean that ground 4A could be used. The answer is no, because ground 4A only applies to HMOs or parts of HMOs.

As mentioned in my previous comment, if one of the properties has three students and the other two, then the students in the one with three can be served notice under ground 4A but the students in the one with two cannot be, regardless of whether there is a tenancy to all five of them jointly or whether they can swap around between the two properties as they wish, and also regardless of whether an HMO (additional) licence is required for the property with three.

Reply to the comment left by Robert at 06/11/2025 – 20:10
“Say, for example, a 1 May 2026 commencement date is picked. Do you honestly expect that the government will decree that a fixed period 30 June 2026 end on a current tenancy will become invalidated, or instead there will a phasing in, or a grace period, even if quite short.”
In your example, the fixed term AST would automatically become a periodic assured tenancy on 1 May and a large section of the rest of the Act would also apply to the tenancy. There will almost certainly be no grace period and the Government will be making leaflets available explaining all the new terms and conditions of existing tenancies that landlords will be required to send to their tenants. Some changes, such as the Ombudsman, database and Awaabs law will come later.