New government guidance will prevent chaos in the student housing market when the Renters’ Rights Act takes effect on 1st May, according to the NRLA.

The Act introduces a new ground for possession so landlords can ensure properties are available to let to new students from one academic year to the next.

Under the ground, landlords must provide tenants with four months’ notice before this can be enforced in the courts if needed. However, there was a risk that thousands of student properties wouldn’t be vacant in time for new arrivals this September.

New government guidance confirms that for student tenancies in HMOs agreed before 1st May, landlords will have until 31st May to formally notify students that they can use the ground for possession to ensure properties are available for new incoming students.

Formal

The formal notice to repossess a property using the ground can be issued to student tenants any time between 1st May and 31st July, and for this year only, the minimum notice period is two months, rather than four.

Chief executive Ben Beadle (pictured left) believes there was a very real prospect that tens of thousands of students could have been denied access to housing from September as landlords would have been unable to regain possession of properties in time. Adds Beadle: “The guidance issued provides welcome clarity that will avoid such chaos.”

The government has also made clarifications around rent for transitional tenancies, running across 1st May.

Clear

Property lawyer David Smith at Spector Constant & Williams (pictured right) explains that the guidance makes clear that it is not possible to enter into a rent increase before 1st May to take effect after 1st May. “You will need to wait until after 1st May and use the new s13 process,” he says.

“However, the guidance also says that a s13 notice issued before 1st May will still take effect, even if the date it should take effect is after 1st May. This is not in the legislation and so indicates that there will be transitional regulations and that this is one of the things they will deal with.”

Possession ground guidance can be found here while new explanatory notes about the Act have also been put online here.