The Renters’ Rights Act, which is due to be implemented on 1 May, introduces a new ground for possession so landlords renting to students can ensure properties are available to let to new students from one academic year to the next.
Landlords need to provide tenants with four months’ notice before possession can be enforced in the courts if needed.
However, campaigners warned that that there was a “very real risk” that thousands of student properties would not be vacant in time for arrivals in September.
The updated guidance, which applies to student tenancies for houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) agreed before 1 May, says that landlords have until 31 May to formally notify students that they may use the ground for possession to ensure properties are available for new incoming students.
The formal notice to repossess a property can be issued at any time between 1 May and 31 July, and for this year only, the minimum notice period is two months rather than four.
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Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), said: “It is positive that the government has taken on board our pragmatic concerns about the workability of a key aspect of the act.
“There was a very real prospect that tens of thousands of students could have been denied access to the housing they need from September, as landlords would have been unable to regain possession of properties in time.
“The guidance issued today provides welcome clarity that will avoid such chaos.”
This change comes off the back of industry concern that the Renters’ Rights Act’s changes could lead to uncertainty around income and property cycles that could lead some landlords to leave the student let market.
