Renters Right Bill
In this page we’ll cover the renting journey as a student, and how we expect the Governments will affect each stage of the process from looking for somewhere to live to leaving at the end of the year.
HMO
is an acronym for a “House of Multiple Occupancy”, basically a building where multiple different people who aren’t related live together.
It covers anything where 3 or more people are sharing facilities such as kitchens, bathrooms etc.
Some things in the Renters Rights Bill only apply to students in HMOs (where all of your housemates are students as well) We’ve marked them out on this page with an *.
PBSA
is an acronym for a “Purpose-Built Student Accommodation”, which is loosely defined but can cover any building that has been built (or sometimes just renovated) for the sole purpose of housing students at University, although we usually consider it places with 15+ bedspaces.
This is usually further separated into ‘private’ accommodation and those owned/ operated by a university.
The RRB won’t apply to university owned PBSA, and those operated by private companies can also be exempt if they are/ become a member of the National Code [link] which provides different protections.
When do I start Searching/ where?
There are some websites which display reviews written by previous tenants to help you find a nice - and/ or good value - place to live. Marks Out of Tenancy Search Landlord Reviews - Marks Out Of Tenancy lets you filter by Property, Landlord or Letting Agent to see their reputation.
The RRB will be introducing a Landlord Database, which will include every single rentable property, as well as details of the landlord, the managing (letting) agent, their contact details and any enforcement action taken against them or any eviction notices they’ve served in the past. Once this is up and running you should check your property is on there as it will be a legal requirement - if it isn’t, you will be able to apply for a Rent Repayment Order.
In Nottingham, all privately rented flats and houses need one of three specific licenses, which specify some minimum standards the property needs to meet and information the landlord/ letting agent needs to provide. We hope this will be included on the Landlord Database in the future, but for now you can find out more about licensing here Licensing for Landlords and check if your property needs/ has a license here: My Property
You can also check to see if the property is accredited by Unipol https://www.unipol.org.uk/landlords/directory/ this isn’t mandatory, but is an indication the landlord is signed up to a voluntary higher standard. The other advantage of signing with an accredited property is an additional complaints process you can use to raise issues with your landlord or property.
If your landlord is planning on only letting to students, and the property has 3 or more beds, they may not be able to sign an agreement with you more than 6 months before you are planning to move in. See more info here*
What should I be aware of when signing a tenancy agreement?
Landlords cannot ask for more rent than advertised, and you can’t be asked to pay more than a months rent in advance at the start of the tenancy. Deposits may still be taken but must continue to be protected by a Deposit Protection Scheme What is a deposit protection scheme? Tenancy deposit protection
Your landlord will no longer be able to ask you to pay for your rent termly, with the maximum period they can ask for is one month’s rent at a time. You will still be able to offer to pay in advance (for example, when your student loan comes in) but not all landlords/ letting agents may be set up to accept that.
Your tenancy will be classed as a ‘periodic tenancy’ and will be rolling on monthly till ended by either yourself or the landlord. Your tenancy will not automatically end at the end of the Academic Year.
Your Landlord will only be able to end your tenancy in a very specific and limited set of circumstances, and in most cases they won’t be able to use any of these grounds in the first 12 months Full list of grounds.
For all student houses with 3 or more beds, the landlord will be able to end the tenancy between 1st June - 30th September, providing they let you (the tenants) know at the start of the tenancy they intended to use “Ground 4A” AND that you didn’t sign the tenancy more than four months before the tenancy started. They must still give you four months notice of the exact final date of the tenancy.*
Students can at anytime in the year provide “notice to quit”, this will allow you to leave your property at anytime with 2 months notice. If your landlord does not give you ground 4A you MUST remember to provide at least 2 months notice to leave the property.
What are my rights whilst living in the property?
A new, Decent Homes Standard will be created which private landlords will have to meet in the quality of housing such as repairs, safety, comfort and maintaining a suitable temperature. There will also be minimum timescales for fixing serious mould and damp hazards (known as Awaab’s Law).
If landlords don’t complete the above or help resolve other issues the local council will have more powers to investigate and order the landlord to resolve the issue. Report an issue to local council. Failure to comply may give you the opportunity to apply for a Rent Repayment Order.
There will also be a new “Landlord Redress Scheme” (likely to be the Housing Ombudsman) which students can report it to if they have exhausted all complaints with their Landlord and are dissatisfied. This mirrors the Letting Agent redress scheme which tenants can already raise a complaint to if they have gone through their letting agents complaints scheme and remain unhappy.
Tenants will be protected from eviction except for in a limited number of circumstances, most of which cannot be used in the first year. This means you are safe from retaliatory action by the landlord/ letting agent if you make a complaint.
You can request to your landlord if you can have a pet stay and landlords must not unreasonably withhold this option without reason.
