Key Changes for Student Tenants

Assured tenancies become rolling (periodic) contracts from 1 May 2026

Before the Renter's Rights Act came in, most tenants were on something called an assured shorthold tenancy (AST), a standard rental contract with a fixed end date.

From 1 May 2026, all assured tenancies will be assured periodic tenancies. Any assured tenancies entered before this date atomically become an assured periodic tenancy.

i.e. if your current agreement is an assured shorthold tenancy, from the 1 May 2026 it atomically becomes an assured periodic tenancy.

A periodic tenancy runs from month to month with neither a fixed term nor end date.

 

The Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026

If you had an existing assured or assured shorthold tenancy prior to the 1 May 2026, your landlord legally needs to serve each named tenant with the Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 by 31 May 2026.

 

Written Statement of Terms

With all new assured tenancies, entered into from 1 May 2026 onwards, landlords are required to provide a written statement of terms for all new assured periodic tenants.

i.e. a written agreement must legally be provided.

The written statement must contain, as a minimum, the information found on our Written Statement of Key Terms Checklist May 2026.pdf [PDF 205KB].

The information can be included in the tenancy agreement or in a separate document.

However, it is likely that a landlord will include all these terms in the tenancy agreement.

If you currently have a verbal tenancy agreement with a landlord, they will need to formalise it by giving you a written record explaining the specific terms of the agreement. They must provide this by 31 May 2026. 

 

Landlords cannot use rental bidding wars

Landlords must advertise a specific asking price for rent and cannot ask for or encourage offers above this advertised price. Therefore, they will no longer be able to ‘invite’ higher ‘bids’ to rent a property.

They will not be allowed to accept offers that are higher than the advertised rent.

 

You can leave at any time by giving two months' notice.

From 1 May 2026, a tenant will be able to terminate their contract by serving at least 2 months’ notice to their landlord. There are rules the tenant must follow for the notice to be valid.

• This must be in writing
• It must expire at the end of a rental period

If you’re on a joint contract, one tenant could give notice without the agreement of their housemates. This would end the tenancy for everyone.

 

No-Fault Evictions Ban (Section 21): Landlords cannot end a tenancy without a specific, legally valid reason.

Up to the 1 May 2026, a landlord was entitled to regain possession at the end of the fixed term, if they have correctly served a Section 21 Notice.

From 1 May 2026, if a landlord wishes to regain possession they must use a Ground 8 eviction notice.

 

Section 8 grounds for eviction

Landlords will need valid reasons (grounds) under Section 8 for eviction, requiring court action for all possession claims and ending the ability to evict tenants without cause.

These grounds can apply if the landlord (or a close family member) plans to move into the property, or if the landlord intends to sell it.

A full list of Section 8 Grounds can be found on page 22 of our Private Accommodation Guide [PDF 396KB].

 

New Student Ground (4A)

If the landlord is renting the entire property to full time students, the introduction of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 allows them to seek possession of the property under the new Ground 4A.

Ground 4A allows the landlord to regain the property if they wish to rent to a new cohort of students for the new academic year. Landlords can only use Ground 4A if the property is an HMO (House in Multiple Occupation) i.e. at least 3 tenants live there and share a toilet, bathroom or kitchen.

 

Rent Payments

From 1 May 2026, landlords cannot legally ask for more than one month’s rent upfront, and it only becomes payable once the tenancy agreement has been signed by all parties. This also applies to any assured or assured shorthold tenancy signed prior to the 1 May 2026.

i.e. if you had previously agreed to pay your rent quarterly (every three months) then these terms will no longer apply from 1 May 2026 and revert to monthly advance payments.

In addition, landlords can no longer request that a tenant, who has been unable to supply a UK guarantor, pays additional advance rent prior to signing a tenancy agreement.

i.e. previously they may have requested a further advance payment of between 3 to 6 months.

 

Rent Increases

Landlords can only increase the rent once per year by giving two months' advance notice.

The introduction of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 will restrict rent increases to once a year, and this will need to be in line with local market rents.

Landlords must give at least 2 months' notice, via a specific Section 13 Notice, if they wish to increase the rent.

If tenants believe that the proposed rent increase is unfair, then this can challenge via a First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).