Date Posted: 9th July 2025

The vast majority of the private rented sector will fall under a new tenancy regime following enactment of the Renters’ Rights Bill, giving enhanced rights and greater protections to tenants. But in framing the Bill, the Government recognised that providers of PBSA who are part of an Approved Code should be treated differently, and last week they set out their proposals on how this may work.

Background

When published on 11th September 2024, the Explanatory Notes to the Renters’ Rights Bill indicated that purpose built student accommodation that was part of a Government approved Code would be excluded from the abolition of section 21 (and hence the assured tenancy regime). However, the published Bill itself was silent on the matter, and with no further details provided during the House of Commons stages, nor in the early stages of the House of Lords, and there had been growing speculation on how or indeed if this would actually take place.

How will the exclusion for Code Members work?      

The Government have provided detail on how it intends to implement the exclusion, with a Government amendment to the Bill tabled on 25th June 2025 by the Housing Communities and Local Government Minister Baroness Taylor of Stevenage. This amendment was approved Report Stage in the House of Lords debate on 7^th July. It is possible for the Bill to be further amended when it goes back to the House of Commons.

The amendment set out three tests that must be met for a PBSA provider’s tenancies to be excluded from the definition of an assured tenancy, which can be summarised as:

1. The tenancy must be granted to a person who intends to or is studying at a specified educational institution, and:
2. That the tenancy is granted by a person who is a member of a specified housing management Code of practice approved under section 233 of the Housing Act 2004, such as the ANUK/Unipol National Code
3. The provider must control and manage the building.

In addition to this, providers must also meet the entry criteria for any approved Code such as those set by the ANUK/Unipol National Codes.

For any provider that meets the above definition and criteria, they will be excluded from the definition of an assured tenancy, which means they:

• Can issue common law tenancies
• Will not need to register with the new complaint’s ombudsman
• Will not need to join with the new landlord database
• Will not need to comply with the new Decent Homes Standard or Awaab’s Law

These are signification concessions for members, and in a debate in the House of Lords on 2^nd July 2025, and Baroness Taylor spoke in support of this exemption for National Code members saying:

“….we have exempted purpose-built student accommodation from the assured tenancy system due to its unique business model. Often, PBSA cannot be let to non-students due to its location or the services it provides alongside accommodation.

We have also exempted this sector from the protections of the assured tenancy system because we are satisfied that the Unipol codes of management practice provide an alternative route to ensuring that tenancies are at a high standard”

It is clear from debates in the House of Lords that membership of the National Codes is seen by Government as setting an effective and fair standard for larger developments which is why members are being formally recognised this way in the Bill.

Issue Arising from the Amendment and Bill Implementation

The wording of the amendment around specified educational institutions and aspects of how the Bill will transition into law are worth noting by members.

What is a specified educational institution?

There is no published list, but The Assured and Protected Tenancies (Lettings to Students) Regulations 1998 provides the relevant definition which states that any university college, or other institution of a university, or any publicly funded further education college or university. In summary this means that almost all Universities and FE Colleges are included, but some private college (for example language colleges) may not be. If there was any doubt about an institution’s status that could be checked with the DfE.

Transitional Arrangements

MHCLG have made clear that it will not be possible for existing tenancies at the date of enactment of the Bill to transfer directly from assured shorthold tenancies to common law tenancies, so this will a transitional period in which these tenancies will be assured and will therefore be subject to the full provisions of the Renters Rights Act. Further details on this will be provided to members shortly.

Next steps for the Amendment and the Bill

The final debate in the Report Stage in the House of Lords is scheduled for 22^nd July, which means that the Bill will not now receive Royal Assent before summer recess and therefore is likely to be delayed until autumn. This amendment still needs to be accepted by the House of Commons and is still therefore subject to debate, but approval in the House of Lords is an encouraging step.

The Government have previously stated that after Royal Assent there will be an implementation period which will allow landlords adequate time to prepare, and have referred to at least 6 months during debate, but no firm details have been published.

On this basis, it would appear reasonable for PBSA providers to expect that the Bill will become law sometime in the 2025 – 2026 academic year.

Time to Prepare

Although this amendment could change, its publication now is a clear indication of the Government’s intent in respect of members of the Code, and if the Bill becomes law in 2025 – 2026, then it would be prudent for members of the Unipol/ANUK National Codes to start preparing now. This could include have tenancy agreements reviewed and preparing communications to students.

The National Code for Non-Educational Providers (the private sector) is currently under review with a number of significant changes being considered. New and existing members should be aware of the proposed changes and consider their potential impact. It is the intention that the new Code is launched at the same point that the Bill is enacted. The date of enactment will be important as there will be implications for existing and new tenancies. Unipol will publish further information about transitional arrangements shortly.

Considering Joining the National Codes?

If you are considering joining for the first time, you are encouraged to start an application at the earliest opportunity to give it the best chance of being approved before the Bill becomes law.

There is information about the joining process here: https://www.nationalcode.org/become-a-member