All eyes are on the Renters’ Rights Act (RRA) and its impact on accommodation providers this year. It’s clear to see that the Act will affect different providers in fundamentally different ways, both exacerbating and layering on top of some of the challenges they already face.
Purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) is a case in point. Changing demand and supply metrics are challenging previous occupancy levels and targets, with student renters in some cities becoming more price sensitive in relation to high-end accommodation.
Landlords of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) are also facing a significant overhaul of their approach, the impact of which they will start to feel in 2026, before it truly hits home in 2027. The Renters’ Rights Act is reshaping providers’ responsibilities and posing complications in relation to HMO landlords dealing with summer void periods. We’ve already seen some landlords bring forward their tenancy start dates to early June to try to offset this issue, but few students want to sign up to such an early tenancy start date. Landlords therefore need to find derisking solutions in respect of summer voids.
The RRA is also redefining how far in advance HMO providers can sell their tenancies to student renters. The full impact of this will be felt as the 2027/28 academic year approaches, with HMO landlords unable to court those currently in halls more than six months in advance.
Challenges abound on all fronts for the student accommodation sector in 2026 and beyond. However, the disruption that accompanies major regulatory change also results in opportunities. Purpose-built student accommodation schemes have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to navigate the student market afresh. Balancing risks, opportunities, voids and pricing will all come into play.
For future years (2027/28) HMOs’ inability to sell tenancies more than six months in advance provides a clear example of this – it presents the PBSA sector with the chance to attract those early bookers, but they must get their proposition positioned appropriately as they will play there hand first. Many HMOs are looking to change the tenancy strategy date to allow for earlier applications.
As the first raft of RRA implementation measures come into force in May, and the second raft later in the year, 2026 will just be the start, with the Act driving a wave of disruption into 2027 and beyond. Providers must focus not just on the initial practicalities and complications resulting from the Renters’ Rights Act’s implementation but on the longer-term strategic opportunities that reshaping protections for student renters presents.
The team here at Housing Hand will be available to help them do so. We already work in partnership with the vast majority of PBSA operators and over 65 universities, with services available spanning the whole of the UK and Ireland. In the fast-changing market, we’re realigning services and products to help PBSA operators protect revenue while facing evolving challenges, even as we work with student renters to protect their wellbeing. This innovative approach to service delivery encompasses our guarantor service, which comes in three tiers and for which we maintain a 100% payout record for all valid claims. As part of that, renters receive a free digital health and wellbeing service. Any PBSA scheme seeking to ensure bookings deliver the right revenue with minimal risk would be welcome to chat with our team.