Cheaper student cities lead landlord yields
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Ground 4A or sign early? Student landlords have a choice to make
8:53 AM, 1st October 2026, 3 weeks ago
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For years, student landlords have competed to secure next year’s tenants early.
In some university towns, properties for the following September are being advertised before Christmas. A good group views a house, likes it and wants to sign. The landlord is equally happy to get next year’s letting secured.
The Renters’ Rights Act creates a new decision for landlords in that position.
If a student HMO landlord wants to use Ground 4A to recover possession for the next student year, one of the conditions is that the tenancy must be entered into no more than six months before the students are entitled to move in.
But that does not mean landlords have to stop marketing their properties early.
They can advertise, conduct viewings and find prospective tenants as early as they wish. The decision comes when the students say: “We want the house. Can we sign?”
Suppose a landlord has a property available from September 2027 and finds an excellent group in November 2026. One option is to sign them up.
The landlord has secured the following year’s tenants; the students know where they will be living and the property is effectively taken out of the market.
But because the tenancy has been entered into more than six months before the students are entitled to possession, the landlord will normally have given up the ability to use Ground 4A at the end of that tenancy.
That may be a risk the landlord is prepared to take.
In a competitive student market, signing early could give that landlord an advantage over someone who wants to preserve Ground 4A and therefore isn’t prepared to enter into the tenancy until later.
Alternatively, the landlord can market just as early but wait until the tenancy falls within the six-month window before entering into it.
That preserves the possibility of using Ground 4A, provided all its other requirements are met.
But there is a commercial risk on that side too.
Will a group who find the house they want in November be prepared to wait several months before entering into the tenancy? Or will they choose another property where the landlord is prepared to sign them up immediately?
That is the real decision Ground 4A creates.
It isn’t “Can I market my property early?”
You can.
It is whether the advantage of securing a good student group early is worth giving up Ground 4A, or whether retaining Ground 4A is sufficiently important to justify waiting before entering into the tenancy.
The answer may be different from one university town to another. It may even be different between properties in the same portfolio.
What matters is that landlords make the choice deliberately. If you normally sign next year’s students seven, eight or nine months before they move in, you don’t necessarily have to stop.
But from 2027, you need to understand what you may be giving up by doing it.
Peter Littlewood has worked with landlords for many years through iHowz Landlord Association and now delivers landlord and agent training through B-Informed, including on the Renters’ Rights Act, student lettings and HMO management.
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Member Since July 2023 - Comments: 95
9:03 AM, 1st October 2026, About 3 weeks ago
Whilst RRA legislation is generally regressive the failure to allow fixed term contracts for students appears criminally punitive for landlords and a totally inept slice of law. In this area the RRA appears to destroy previous harmonious balance. The failure to address a definite market need for fixed term contracts for students acts as a beacon as to all that is wrong with the new RRA bill
The real problem comes where students either leave early; thereby leaving the landlord with empty property and losses, and to a lessor extent they refuse to go at the end.
If they leave early by giving two months notice the landlord is left with a property where he has missed that academic year and cannot easily replace the loss this creates through no fault of his own, there is a particular risk of this over summer. If they refuse to leave after the academic year then the 4a was probably of limited use anyway. People have always been able to overstay their contracts and using a 4a would not give a speedy recovery if the students ignored it, as it’s dependent on a protracted legal eviction in a lengthy court process.
Since all contracts are now effectively two months contracts, a landlord being unable to use 4a to reclaim their property should a contract have been agreed more than 6 months ahead is just another detrimental bias act against landlords. What could the reasoning be for this? Perhaps the most worrying thing is the UK is creating bias and discriminatory statute that serves no useful purpose yet causes harm for those landlords affected when triggered.
Where were the landlord bodies when this unbalanced and discriminatory act came into play?
Member Since June 2015 - Comments: 366
10:44 AM, 1st October 2026, About 3 weeks ago
The other issue is when to serve the Section 8 using ground 4a. It has to be at least 4 months in advance but that will simply remind tenants they can leave with only 2 months notice. Probably prompting a void we may not have otherwise had.
While it has to be a minimum of 4 months notice, what is the maximum? For example could we serve it now with an end of tenancy date of 31st July 2027?
Member Since September 2022 - Comments: 217
12:28 PM, 1st October 2026, About 3 weeks ago
Most of the RRA rules Do Not apply to Purpose Built Student Accomadation !
I wonder why ?
More Student Landlords in the PRS will sell up and more new build tower blocks with Hugely Expensive Rents will spring up in Major cities and towns.
Will living in isolated single ensuite rooms help mental health and building life long friendships ?
Member Since March 2024 - Comments: 346
12:57 PM, 1st October 2026, About 3 weeks ago
Reply to the comment left by DAMIEN RAFFERTY at 01/10/2026 – 12:28
I’ve got a slice of the action in the purpose built student accommodation sector after selling my student HMOs and putting a proportion in property related equities. Unite group is a REIT and the big attraction is they can be held in an ISA and dividends derived from the rental income are tax free as are any capital gains. The down side so far is a rather volatile share price affected by high interest rates.
To be fair, whilst there does seem to be more studios, the standard provision is cluster flats – 5 or 6 en-suite bedrooms but sharing a lounge and kitchen. My personal experience in the market I was in was that the overseas students (of which there were many) preferred the purpose built blocks (and were fairly well off as the overseas annual tuition fee was over £20k a few years ago).