Landlords – your responsibilities with student accommodation

If you are renting accommodation to students, you have responsibilities and obligations.

A lot of the legislation that applies to regular landlords also applies to student landlords, however there are some additional rules and responsibilities involved in letting to students that landlords should ensure that they are familiar with before they welcome their first tenants. 

Failure to comply with landlord regulations can result in fines and even prosecution.

Elizabeth Shaw, Head of Property Litigation at Wake Smith, looks at your duties as a landlord when renting to tenants.

This article covers:

• The relevant legislation
• Student HMO Landlord responsibilities
• Student focused Tenancy Agreement
• Fire, gas and electrical safety
• Eviction
• Tenancy Deposit Protection (TDP) scheme
• Property repairs
• Legislative changes ahead

The relevant legislation
Important landlord legislation that student landlords need to be familiar with include: 

• The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985;
• The Housing Act 1988;
• The Deregulation Act 2015;
• The right-to-rent policy (contained within the Immigration Act 2016);
• The Tenant Fees Act 2019;
• The tenancy deposit protection legislation (contained within the Housing Act 2004);
• Landlord licencing policies (contained within section 3 of the Housing Act 2004).

Obligations that apply to all landlords, including student landlords, include:

• Register with the Information Commissioner’s Office;
• Perform right-to-rent checks;
• Understand the Tenant Fees Act 2019.

Student HMO Landlord responsibilities
Many student lets are shared houses occupied by three or more unrelated individuals. This type of arrangement classifies a property as a HMO (house in multiple occupation). 

If your student let is a HMO, you need to be aware of the specific legislation and regulations surrounding HMOs, plus all the standard housing and rental regulations.

There is government legislation that protects students, and their money, from landlords and letting agents, including rules such as the bedrooms being of adequate size and that landlords must provide suitable rubbish bins. 

If five or more people live in one rented property, the property must be licensed. The property may not have any ‘bedrooms’ of less than 6.51 square metres for one adult.

You cannot charge unfair fees to your tenants including extortionate cleaning or admin fees, as this is prohibited by law.

Student-focused Tenancy Agreement
A professional student tenancy agreement is drawn up by the landlord before a tenancy starts. This is the legal contract between the landlord and tenants which clearly shows each party’s rights and responsibilities during the tenancy. 

Most student tenancy agreements are fixed-term Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) agreements. They can be either individual tenancy agreements for each tenant or a joint tenancy agreement. 

When an individual tenancy agreement is used, each tenant is liable solely for their own rent, deposit, and actions.

For a joint tenancy agreement, all tenants share joint liability for rent and other terms of the contract. This offers the landlord better protection as if one tenant falls behind with payments, or chooses to leave the property, the other tenants are responsible for covering these payments.

Most student tenancy agreements are for a fixed term of 12 months, although this can vary at the landlord’s discretion.

The student tenancy agreement should be signed by the landlord and new tenants before they move into the property, and each tenant should receive a copy of the signed tenancy agreement.

Student landlords should inform the local council when a property is being occupied by students so any council tax discounts can be claimed.

Fire, gas and electrical safety
It is your responsibility to ensure that your student property is safe to live. This includes ensuring that the property has an Energy Performance Certificate and all gas appliances and electrical equipment have been professionally checked and approved as safe. 

Gas appliances should be serviced annually by a Gas Safe registered engineer with a copy of the valid gas safety certificate provided to the tenants when they first move into the accommodation. The electrics should be inspected once every five years.

As a landlord you must install a smoke alarm on each floor of your property, and in some cases also functioning carbon monoxide alarms.

Eviction
If tenants are paying the rent and behaving, then as a landlord, you cannot legally ask them to leave. 

Student landlords can only legally evict tenants when:

• They are at least two months late paying their rent;
• They are breaching the terms of their student tenancy agreement;
• They are using the property for illegal purposes;
• They are being a serious nuisance to neighbours;
• The property has fallen into an unacceptable state and needs to be repaired.

Tenancy Deposit Protection (TDP) scheme
When you take the student tenancy deposit, a landlord is legally obliged to put it into a Government-approved Tenancy Deposit Protection scheme. 

The deposit should be put into a TDP scheme within 30 days of a landlord receiving it and you should provide a certificate to the tenant about which scheme it is in.

To avoid any doubt on deposits being returned, many landlords choose to offer an inventory list of items/contents/condition to agree with tenants.

Property repairs     
Landlords are required to arrange for any major repairs required as quickly as possible. 

This includes repairs to the property’s structure, pipes, wiring, heating and hot water, and bathroom fixtures and deal with any issues affecting water, electricity, or the gas supply.

They must also make repairs and maintain any appliances or furniture they have supplied.

If any damage is caused to the property or its contents, accidentally or otherwise, by the tenants, then they may be required to arrange for this to be fixed by themselves.

Legislative changes ahead
Elizabeth has looked at the Renters Reform Bill under previous articles [add links].  However, student lets generally work rather different to the private rented sector.  The key reforms to the private rented sector include:

• The abolition of fixed term assured tenancies and assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs). These will be replaced with periodic assured tenancies;
• The abolition of no-fault evictions under Section 21;
• A new right for tenants to ask to keep pets in their rented properties;
• A new duty on landlords to provide tenants with a written statement of terms and information on or before the first day of the tenancy.

 It’s not clear how the Government intends to deal with student lets.  There’s concern that the current increase in possession actions is as a result of landlords deciding to sell their properties before the Renters Reform Act becomes law.  This might also impact on the availability of student housing unless student lets are excluded from these provisions.

Your next move
For further advice surrounding landlord rights call Elizabeth Shaw at Wake Smith on 0114 222 2041 or email [email protected]

Published 19/09/2023