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.

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 7th 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 2nd 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.

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

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.