New guidance published by the government today will prevent chaos in the student housing market when the Renters’ Rights Act is implemented from May 1.
This is the view of the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), one of the organisations that has been campaigning hard on the issue.
The Renters’ Rights Act 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.
Under this ground for possession, landlords must provide tenants with four months’ notice before it could be enforced in the courts if needed.
However, with the Act commencing in May, there was a very real risk that thousands of student properties would not be vacant in time for new arrivals in September this year.
Following extensive campaigning by NRLA, new government guidance published today confirms that:
*Landlords will have until May 31 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 using the ground can be issued to student tenants any time between May 1 and July 31, and for this year only, the minimum notice period is two months, rather than four.
Ben Beadle, chief executive of 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 10s 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.”