Students from the UK and overseas could miss out on a university education unless the Government makes urgent changes to its Renters’ Rights Bill.

The NRLA is leading a coalition of student housing providers and property portals to issue the stark warning as the Bill makes its progress through the House of Lords.

While all landlords will be impacted by the changes included in the Bill, student landlords will be among the hardest hit, with a fifth unable to use the new repossession ground introduced to protect the unique cyclical nature of the student market, which follows the academic year.

In a letter to the Higher Education Minister, Baroness Smith, the organisations warn that unless changes are made, many students will be unable to access the housing they need, which will limit their options when it comes to university places.

Which tenancies will be covered by the new ground?

Ground 4a will allow student landlords to take back possession, but only some – and only in specific circumstances.

To recap, the ground will only be applicable where:

• The property is an HMO;

• All the tenants met the student test when the tenancy is entered into (that is, they are students, or it is reasonable to believe they will be during the tenancy);

• The landlord intends to let the property next time to another group of students.

A new additional caveat has also been added recently, which says the tenancy must be agreed less than six months before the start date of the tenancy.

Which student landlords will be barred from using the new ground?

The ground cannot be used by student landlords renting out properties with only one or two bedrooms.

The reason for this decision is unclear, with the data from the organisations who signed the letter –  NRLA, Accommodation for Students, Homes for Students, StuRents and the Young Group – suggesting these smaller properties account for a massive one in five of the student homes out there.

The group has warned there is a real risk that these landlords could leave the student landlords sector altogether, given their business model has essentially been rendered unworkable.

Double whammy

Student landlords are also likely to be affected by other recent amendments to the Bill, specifically with regards to rent in advance, with the Bill limiting the amount landlords can take.

At present many students opt to pay their fees termly, in line with student loan payments, which helps their financial planning, yet this will be banned under the Bill as landlords will along be able to take a maximum of a month’s rent at a time.

Students coming into the UK to study from overseas are also set to be caught out by this new rule, as many – without a UK credit history  – currently opt to pay their rent up front as proof they can sustain the tenancy.

Without this option, we have argued, they could find it harder to find places to live.

In our joint statement we, as a coalition, have warned of the catastrophic consequences of potentially losing a fifth of student homes, explaining that the proposed changes will make life more difficult for the students the reforms are designed to help.

Indeed, when similar reforms were introduced in Scotland several years ago there was a noticeably higher rate of exit from the student market than from the wider PRS, with NUS Scotland reporting the crisis was forcing students to quit courses.

We need to learn lessons from this.

The Bill is progressing through Parliament apace, with its Second Reading in the Lords last week [4 Feb – Ed] and Committee stage expected before the month is out.

But it is still not too late for change.

We will continue to call on the Government and peers to take action to protect the availability of all forms of student housing in order to safeguard the future of our students.

More information

• The Conservatives tabled a number of amendments after last week’s debate. For more on these click here.

• For more on the NRLA's approach to the Bill and our campaigns work read a blog by our policy director Chris Norris here.

• You can keep up to date with all the developments of the Renters Rights Bill, by accessing our exclusive member Hub here.  

• Extra dates have been added for our new Renters’ Rights course, after training sessions sold out in record time. For more information and to book click here. ‍