This piece from rental services provider Housing Hand

There are plenty of details for renters to absorb as the Renters Rights Act beds in following its implementation in May. 

Understanding of the Act’s changes is certainly not as widespread as it should be, with UK rental services provider Housing Hand finding that 78% of renters don’t know how it impacts them. 

Looking at student renters specifically, Housing Hand also revealed that only 27% understand how their rights as a renter differ between different property types. 

Furthermore, 65% of student renters report negative feelings about renting in the UK right now: 24% feel overwhelmed, 17% uncertain, 14% anxious, 6% scared and 4% out of their depth. 

The findings prompted the company to dig deeper, looking in particular at student renters and the five most common questions that they’re asking Housing Hand, as their rental guarantor provider, about the Act.

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1. When and how do I give notice, if I want to end my tenancy?

In a private shared house (known as a house in multiple occupation, or HMO), most student renters can now give two months’ notice to end an assured periodic tenancy. They have to give notice in writing, which can be by letter, email, or text.

The period of notice has to be given on a rent payment day or just before it. Rent remains payable during the notice period. So, two months’ notice can be from two months and one day up to two months and 30 days depending on when it is served. Landlords can agree to end the tenancy early or shorten the notice period, which will need to be in writing.

If there is a change of mind during the notice period, landlords must agree in writing that this can be revoked, otherwise tenants must leave on the agreed date.

If rent has been paid in advance, or paid termly, then a refund may be due depending on when notice was provided.

In purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA), the process works differently. Usually, the tenancy ends at the end of the academic year, so notice is not required. However, for this year only, contracts that commenced (either signed or entered into tenancy) before 1^st May 2026 will have changed to monthly rolling contracts due to the Renters’ Rights Act. Students with these tenancies can give two months’ notice at any point. Their PBSA provider could also serve a Ground 4A notice if they choose. 

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2. I’ve signed a tenancy agreement for September 2026. Can I give notice now, so that it doesn’t go ahead?

A tenancy (either HMO or PBSA) entered into prior to 1^st May will have become periodic, and therefore two months’ notice can be provided at any time. Rent would still need to be paid for the two months’ notice period. If living in a shared accommodation with a Joint and Several contract, tenants must consider that this would also terminate the contract for their housemates.

For PBSA, tenancies entered into after 1^st May remain as fixed-term tenancies and can only conclude before the stated end date with mutual agreement by the landlord. This can happen typically if a suitable replacement tenant is found.

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3. What’s the difference between me renting a PBSA room versus a room in an HMO?

An HMO is a house where a private landlord rents rooms to individual tenants (often students). PBSA schemes tend to be larger, usually with shared facilities as well as the student’s individual room, with students renting their room from a company rather than a private landlord.

Each accommodation type has its own rules under the Renters’ Rights Act. In an HMO, for example, students will likely now be on a periodic tenancy, which won’t have an expiry date (though some HMOs may be exempt if they meet certain criteria). As such, student renters have to give two months’ notice when they want to leave. The landlord also has the option to serve a Ground 4A, which gives four months’ notice for student renters to move out. This enables HMO landlords to free up their properties ready to rent them out again to a new batch of students for the next academic year.

PBSA works differently. There, the tenancy agreement will usually have a fixed expiry date at the end of the academic year, so the student has to leave then unless the PBSA provider advises differently. However, for this year, PBSA contracts will have moved to a monthly rolling contract, unless the provider has served a Ground 4A notice or the contract was entered into after 1st May.

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4. What is a Ground 4A notice? When will my landlord serve it? What does it mean?

A Ground 4A notice is a special possession notice that landlords of student HMOs can use under the Renters’ Rights Act. It gives the student renters notice that the landlord plans to take back possession of the property ready for the next academic cycle, usually so they can re-let it to a new group of students. It’s a legal process that HMO landlords have to follow if they want their student renters to move out at the end of an academic year.

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5. What if I want to stay in my accommodation for another academic year?

If a renter has a joint tenancy in an HMO, then one person giving notice can end the tenancy for everyone. So, if one housemate decides to leave and gives notice, the tenancy will end.

This can be a difficult situation for student renters and for landlords. One option is to negotiate with the landlord so that the rest of the household can remain in the tenancy. The landlord may want to issue a new contract for existing tenants in this situation.