Renters' Rights Act, five months in: what student landlords in Manchester need to know

What changed on 1 May 2026

Every assured shorthold tenancy in England, new or existing, became a periodic tenancy. There are no fixed terms any more: tenants can leave with two months' notice at any point, and landlords can only end a tenancy using one of the legal grounds. Section 21, the 'no-fault' notice, has gone.

Rent can be put up once a year, using the proper notice form with two months' warning, and tenants can challenge an increase at a tribunal. Asking for more than one month's rent in advance is no longer allowed, and neither is taking offers above the advertised rent.

The student rule: Ground 4A

Student landlords were worried that periodic tenancies would break the September cycle. Ground 4A is the answer, with conditions. If a house is an HMO let to full-time students, the landlord can take it back each summer to re-let to the next group, as long as the tenants were told in writing before they signed, the tenancy was signed no more than six months before they were entitled to move in, and at least four months' notice is given, with the house handed back between 1 June and 30 September.

The catch is the paperwork and the timing. The written statement has to be given before the tenancy is signed, the house has to meet the definition of an HMO, and the notice periods have to be right. The six-month rule matters most for student houses: a tenancy signed in November for a September move-in, ten months ahead, can't use Ground 4A at all. Miss any of these and the ground is not available for that tenancy.

What has not changed

• Deposits are still capped at five weeks' rent and must be protected within 30 days.
• Gas safety, electrical safety and HMO licensing rules are the same as before.
• Rent arrears and antisocial behaviour remain grounds for possession, each with its own notice period.

What is new besides Ground 4A

• Selling the house is now a ground for possession, with its own notice period, but it can't be used in the first 12 months of a tenancy.
• Groups still start looking in the autumn, but signing a tenancy more than six months before the move-in date means Ground 4A can't be used for it, so when to sign is now part of planning the next let.

Still to come

The Act also sets up a landlord database and a private rented sector ombudsman, extends the Decent Homes Standard to private rentals and brings in Awaab's Law on damp and mould. The government sets the dates for each of these, and we will update this article as they are confirmed.

What we do about it

For the houses we manage, the students get the Ground 4A written statement before they sign. A tenancy signed more than six months before the move-in date can't use Ground 4A, so when a tenancy is signed now matters as much as the paperwork. If your house is managed elsewhere and you are not sure the statement was given, or when the tenancy was signed, that is worth checking now rather than next summer.

Not sure where your house stands? Ask for a free management review and we will look at the paperwork with you. This article is a general summary, not legal advice.