End of student tenancies as we know them?

Rather than penalise landlords by artificially controlling the market by restricting private rents, could the government simply buy, rent or build more affordable housing? It used to be called ‘council housing’.

The huge problem is nobody knows for certain what will happen, a long while ago we had a student rent. On one occasion a student then got a job locally and wanted to stay.

Post RRB I cannot see any way of preventing this happening. Plus the risk of final year students just walking away after their exams.

Surely Student HMO accommodation should be an AST for their room and a licence for the common parts. Not an AST for the whole property and often under one student as lead or jointly and severally.

The problem is that with no fixed term unable to organise to rent to students looking for PRS accommodation when their in Halls accommodation fixed term ends. Too many tertiary education establishments only have accommodation for 1st years.

The other problem is that student HMOs by their very nature = student council tax exempt. BUT once one student is no longer a full time student then ALL in that household are required to pay council tax

Yes, as things stand with the RRB, any joint tenancy, (not just those for students) could be ended by any one tenant on day 1 with 2 months notice. This clearly makes any joint tenancy insecure for the tenants.

I think that its likely that over time landlords will have to stop using joint tenancies for shared housing and move to room only tenancies. In the case of students, this will clearly have an impact on Council Tax liability. Landlords that have a joint tenancy ended by one student will be faced with a choice of:
– try to force the remaining tenants to make up the rent difference or accept a lower rent;
– try to find another student to replace the one that’s left, (usually very difficult once term has begun) or take a non-student to replace them, (although that person would then bear the full cost of the Council Tax)
– make all the students leave and switch to professional sharers.

My assumption is that in time most student landlords will find all the options unpalatable and give up providing student accommodation.

Reply to the comment left by DPT at 19/05/2025 – 13:13Exactly. This is all planned by our treacherous Government. The only realistic option will be to hand the property over to Serco to house the people from far away places.

Currently, students are secure, most on a one-year tenancy. If one of the group leaves during the year then they have to find a suitable replacement. But the group has no risk of being evicted.

The renters rights act actually removes lots of their rights effectively. By giving any member of the group a chance to end the tenancy that leaves the others homeless.

It’s a real problem for all Hmos, not just students. For landlords it could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what they want to do and the prices/supply in the area.

Whoever wrote it doesn’t understand how hmos work in practice.

Discussed far too little: RRB includes an amendment also to the Protection from Eviction Act 1977, at 23(3), allowing for a Notice to Quit to be withdrawn by mutual agreement. So if one student occupier gives notice affecting the others, just agree with the others via email that the NTQ is to be withdrawn. Problem solved for everyone except the awkward one.

Prospective Landlord: I’ve got an application from Little Johnny for a flat. I gather you were his previous landlord. Are you happy to give him a reference?
Me: Well, he’s a dishonourable little scumbag who did a runner half way through his year leaving me and his housemates in the lurch. Will that do?
Some time later
Little Johnny: Doug, are you saying hurty words about me? I can’t find anywhere to live now!
Me: Little Johnny, life has a way of catching up with little scumbags like you. Karma ..

There is a known list of scenarios for people renting, and common edge cases. Yet nothing seems covered. It’s like they are starting from scratch with no prior knowledge.

The student union warned about this last year, it was going to be an end to academic tenancies. It’s going to turn into licensee/serviced accommodation only in order to ensure lining up with term dates.

At least it’s not like Scotland, where it’s possible for joint tenants to be trapped, because it requires all tenants to agree for one to leave a joint periodic tenancy.

Reply to the comment left by Simon F at 19/05/2025 – 19:20
I dont think that’s how it would work without a much bigger change to the law. With a joint tenancy there is in effect only one Tenant comprising all the individual tenants. The individuals don’t have a distinct legal relationship with the landlord and are not therefore divisible.