Since 1 May 2026, a private student let in England normally runs as a rolling periodic tenancy that the students can end on two months' notice, so the academic-year fixed term has gone. A landlord of a student HMO can still seek possession each summer for the next intake using Ground 4A, but only if every condition is met, including the written statement before signing.
The end of Section 21 is covered in what replaced Section 21, and Ground 4A is one row in our full list of Section 8 grounds. This post is only about student lets.
What did the BBC find about student lets under the Renters' Rights Act?
Students like the freedom and landlords expect higher rents, BBC News reported on 25 October 2026. After his first year at Exeter, Eddie Lever decided to switch to York, but his next house's tenancy had already started. He gave two months' notice, and because it was a joint tenancy, his leaving ended it for the whole house until a friend took his room and the housemates signed a new tenancy.
Lewis Wilson of the National Union of Students told the BBC the flexibility lets students save money by moving home for the summer. Chris Norris of the National Residential Landlords Association warned that houses could sit empty over the summer, or earlier, and that some landlords may raise rents, sell up or stop letting to students, though he called it early days. Sue Lawes, who lets three shared houses to students in Norwich, has moved her tenancy start dates from September to August: "Landlords will put prices up and students are going to pay."
Can students leave a tenancy early?
Yes. A tenant on an assured tenancy can end it with at least two months' written notice, or a shorter period you agree in writing (Protection from Eviction Act 1977, section 5(1ZA)), and a term creating a fixed term has no effect (Housing Act 1988, section 4A). GOV.UK's landlord guide adds that the notice must end the tenancy on a day the rent is due or the day before.
On a joint tenancy, one student can end it for everyone. Section 5(1ZC) confirms a notice from only one or some joint tenants is valid, and the same guide says one tenant "will usually be able to end the joint tenancy without the agreement of the other tenants". A shorter notice period needs the landlord's and every joint tenant's written agreement. If the tenancy ends, anyone staying needs a new tenancy, as in Exeter. Room-by-room tenancies limit the damage: one student leaving ends only their own, though each room needs its own statement and notice.
Does the fixed term ban apply to every student landlord?
No. New tenancies in university halls and qualifying purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) are not assured tenancies, so they can still offer academic-year fixed terms. Schedule 1, paragraph 8 of the Housing Act 1988 excludes student tenancies granted by a specified educational institution or body, or managed by a member of a specified code; from 1 May 2026, SI 2026/327 added members of the ANUK/Unipol Code of Standards for Larger Developments not run by universities.
Ordinary private student houses and flats are not covered by this exemption. For private PBSA, the specified code membership can belong to the landlord or manager.
What is Ground 4A and who can use it?
Ground 4A is a mandatory possession ground for student HMOs, inserted into Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988 by the Renters' Rights Act 2025, Schedule 1, paragraph 10: prove every condition and the court must order possession, subject to the general possession requirements, including the deposit-protection rules. As of 27 October 2026:
| Condition | What it means in practice | Source |
|---|---|---|
| The home "is in an HMO or is an HMO" | A house shared by three or more students from two or more households, or a room in one | Ground 4A (a); Housing Act 2004, s.254 |
| The tenant meets the student test when the tenancy is entered into | Every tenant is a full-time student at signing, or you reasonably believe they will become one | Ground 4A (b) |
| A written statement before signing | You tell the tenants in writing, before they sign, that you wish to recover possession on that basis and intend to re-let to students | Ground 4A (c) |
| Six months or less from signing to move-in | From the day they sign to the day they are entitled to move in | Ground 4A (d) |
| The relevant date falls between 1 June and 30 September | The earliest date in your notice on which possession proceedings may begin | Ground 4A (e) |
| You intend to re-let to students | The next tenants must also meet the student test | Ground 4A (f) |
"Full-time student" means a full-time course listed in Schedule 6 to the Education Reform Act 1988: degree, postgraduate, HND, HNC, DipHE and other courses above A level standard, with Scottish and Northern Irish equivalents. The test applies at signing, so a later dropout does not defeat the ground.
When will Ground 4A not work?
The usual traps:
- Not an HMO. Two sharers are not an HMO (Housing Act 2004, Schedule 14, paragraph 7), so a flat let to two students is outside it unless the building itself is an HMO.
- A joint tenant who fails the student test. One non-student defeats it unless, at signing, you reasonably believe they will become a full-time student during the tenancy. The test applies to each tenancy, so a non-student elsewhere in a room-by-room HMO does not automatically prevent its use for a student's room.
- No written statement, or no proof of when you gave it.
- Signed too early. A contract signed in January for a September start exceeds the six-month limit.
- A date outside 1 June to 30 September.
- Selling, moving in or letting to non-students. Ground 4A requires an intention to re-let to students. Selling or moving in may qualify under Ground 1A or 1; re-letting to non-students does not qualify under either.
What is the Ground 4A notice period?
Four months. Section 8(4AA) of the Housing Act 1988 sets four months beginning with the day you serve the notice on Form 3A, and proceedings cannot begin more than 12 months after service. If the students stay, you still need a court order. The free Section 8 notice period checker lists Ground 4A with the other grounds.
The temporary two-month notice window has closed. For assured tenancies signed before 1 May 2026, the statement could be given until 31 May 2026 and the six-month rule still does not apply (Schedule 6, paragraph 13); notices served from 1 May to 30 July 2026 needed two months (SI 2026/421, regulation 6). The student test can be met at signing or when that statement was given. Any Ground 4A notice served now needs four. For existing tenancies meeting the specified PBSA code test, Schedule 6 also removes the HMO and summer-date conditions.
What does a Ground 4A timeline look like for a September 2027 intake?
Serve notice by 1 March 2027 to name 1 July, and sign the next group no earlier than 2 March 2027. The service dates below let the full four-month period finish before the named date. Say the current group moved in on 1 September 2026 after receiving the written statement, and the next group moves in on 1 September 2027:
| Date | Step |
|---|---|
| 1 February 2027 | Serve Form 3A by this date to name 1 June 2027 |
| 1 March 2027 | Serve by this date to name 1 July 2027 |
| 2 March 2027 | Earliest signing day, counting both signing and 1 September within the six-month period; statement first |
| 1 April 2027 | Serve by this date to name 1 August 2027 |
| 1 May 2027 | Serve by this date to name 1 September 2027 |
| 1 September 2027 | New group entitled to move in |
If you post the notice, allow extra time for service. The named date is the earliest point for court proceedings, not a guaranteed handover. Allow for court time before promising the house to the next group; even a voluntary departure on 1 September leaves no turnaround time. The six-month rule also ends signing next year's house before Christmas: a group signing in December 2026 for September 2027 can never be recovered under Ground 4A on that tenancy. For an illustrative 1 August 2027 start, the earliest signing date is 2 February 2027.
How much do summer voids cost a student HMO?
A one-month void needs about a 10% rent rise to stand still, a two-month void about 22%. Illustrative figures: a five-bed student HMO at £550 per room per month earns £2,750 a month, or £33,000 on a 12-month let. Rent excludes bills; the group moved in on 1 September and pays on the 1st.
- Notice on 5 May, after exams. Two months runs to 5 July, and the tenancy must end on a rent day or the day before, so it ends on 31 July. August is empty.
- Notice on 15 April. It ends on 30 June. July and August are empty.
For this example, all five remain qualifying students for council tax until their tenancy ends. Class N covers their holiday absences while they hold the tenancy (Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992, article 3). Once it ends and the house is empty, that exemption stops and the bill is yours at your council's empty-property rate. Assume £175 a month for council tax and £120 for utility standing charges and broadband.
| 12-month fixed term (old model) | Group leaves 31 July | Group leaves 30 June | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Months of rent | 12 | 11 | 10 |
| Rent collected | £33,000 | £30,250 | £27,500 |
| Lost rent | £0 | £2,750 | £5,500 |
| Council tax and bills while empty | £0 | £295 | £590 |
| Total cost of the void | £0 | £3,045 | £6,090 |
| Break-even rent per room | £550 | £606 (+10%) | £672 (+22%) |
The break-even row divides the void cost by the room-months let: £3,045 ÷ 55 = £55.36, rounded up to £56; £6,090 ÷ 50 = £121.80, rounded up to £122. Check: 55 x £606 = £33,330, less £295, leaves £33,035. Whether your market will pay that is another question; the HMO calculator tests your own figures.
What can student landlords do about it lawfully?
Change the paperwork and the calendar:
- Summer-to-summer starts. A July or August start can put the next group in soon after the last one leaves. Students retain their right to leave on notice.
- Ground 4A in the tenancy pack. A separate dated statement for every tenant, acknowledged before signing, with notice deadlines diarised.
- A re-let pipeline. Keep a waiting list and accept suitable replacement sharers, giving each new tenancy a fresh statement before signing.
- Holding deposits. Up to one week's rent; the 15-day deadline for agreement can be extended if you both agree in writing.
- Rent. Advertise the rent you need for each new group and take no more (rent in advance and the bidding ban). For a group staying on, raise it only with a Section 13 notice.
What you cannot do:
- Fixed terms or minimum stays. Section 4A makes them of no effect.
- Take a term's rent up front. For a new tenancy, no rent before both sides sign; after signing and before it starts, at most one month's rent, or 28 days' rent if it is not monthly (GOV.UK).
- Ask for more than two months' notice.
- Charge for leaving on proper notice. The Tenant Fees Act allows a termination payment only when a tenant leaves without the required notice, capped at your loss (Schedule 1, paragraph 7).
- Use the guarantor to rebuild a fixed term. The Act's payment ban covers anyone who has guaranteed the rent (section 1(9)), and once a valid notice ends the tenancy there is no further rent to guarantee.
How does Padlord help?
Padlord keeps each property's tenancy record (tenants, start date, rent) and stores the signed agreement, the dated Ground 4A statement and any Form 3A as documents on the property timeline. It derives void periods from the gaps between tenancies and tracks gas safety, electrical, EPC and HMO licence renewal dates. It does not draft or serve notices.
This covers England only; Wales and Scotland have their own tenancy rules.
General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Sources checked on 27 October 2026.
