Can student tenants end a fixed term HMO tenancy early under new renters' rights rules?

[Bezaz]

Wasn't sure whether to put this in Property or in Higher Ed.
DD is renting a student HMO in her uni town. It was a fixed term 12 month tenancy which was signed last year to run between 1st Sept 2025 and 31st Aug 2026. However she and her housemates are all finished with uni by the middle of June, and keen to pack up and come home.
Under the new Renters Rights Act (which comes into effect on 1st May), can they, on that day, give two months notice of their intention to leave the house on 1st July, and thus save themselves two months worth of rent? Presimbaly any new tenants won't be moving in until 1st Sep 2026.
Any advice welcome!

I don’t know, but it’s a difficult situation all round. Student landlords can be horrible - desperate and naive students rent manky properties that landlords don’t look after and pay ££££ for them. I know lots of people with kids at uni who’ve been screwed by landlords. On the other hand, it seems a bit dirty to sign a contract for 12 months and then go back on it by exiting early, just because you can. But then landlords have essentially gone back on the spirit of the contract (even if they have kept within the law) by furnishing the properties from wrecked furniture that they found free on the street and suchlike. The properties in some places are so oversubscribed and shit that landlords get away with all sorts.

but I suppose on balance, too many landlords have behaved too badly so these are the consequences. Shame for the good ones.

This years students are basically shafting next years students: the shortfall in rent will have to be paid by next years renters.
It’s a shit thing to do. My kids (currently in first year uni) will have to pay extra because this years lot are going back on what they signed up for.

I think it’s a bit naive to expect students to pay for accommodation they don’t need over the summer in circumstances where new legislation allows them to exit early, in some kind of altruistic gesture to future tenants. Blame the government not the students.

Student rentals will shift to 1 July - 30 June if they haven’t already, to avoid early finishes @PinkCatCushion - I think most are like this anyway

I sold my student BTL. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Maybe landlords will shift their lease dates to start 1 July but they might not all get tenants since student loans for year 2 won't be paid until September and many students can't afford to pay an overlap of rent in their first year.

Student landlords have been the winners for too long. Their HMOs, using reception rooms as bedrooms, have given them plenty of money over the years, I'm sure they can take the hit of 2 months less rent this year. Plus, most landlords anticipated these changes. Landlords can try to push it on to next year's students but depending on the university, the city and the demographics of the students, they might not have a choice.

Purpose built student accommodation is growing every year. They're might be less need for private student landlords in many university towns as time goes on.

Landlords can rent rooms over the summer as Airbnb and students can go home and earn money without paying rent. It’s a much more sensible system.

For years, landlords have got away with charging a full years’ rent when students realistically only need the place for nine to ten months.

Many have taken advantage of students, very often providing poor accommodation, because they knew they could get away with it.

So I have very little sympathy despite being a landlord myself.

If the law or a contract allows students to give two months notice then it’s not a shit thing to terminate the tenancy within the limits of the law or the contract.

If they manage to get the property in shape to be attractive to this market, which is an entirely different one from the student let.

Landlords already charge students a lot more than normal people so they take the risk if they take students on

It’s diabolical how some landlords abuse student tenants.

Dd1 intended to do a term abroad and despite flagging it to the agent at the start of the tenancy and being told that she would be allowed to assign her room mid tenancy, when it came to time the landlord refused, despite the tenancy agreement providing for assignment with landlord’s consent.

His reason? His insurers wouldn’t allow it 🤔

And oh, his son had been in a similar position and they had to suck it up!

No way was I handing over almost £3k of rent just because he was being a dick.

In the end, I drafted the deed of assignment to protect Dd1 and the incoming tenant as much as possible while securing the landlord’s interest too and I expect that the landlord/agent can use that deed as a precedent in future.

However, it’s likely that his starting position will be to refuse future requests just because he thinks he can get away with it.

No, these places will just transition to regular HMOs due to the lack of private rental available since landlords have been selling up. People that once rented a flat now live in HMOs. My city has developed loads of purpose built student accommodation, so all the old student HMOs are now let as HMOs, just not for students. A friend lives next to one. The bonus is the non-students are much quieter than the students were.

My initial student accommodation which was a large HMO run by the uni started in September and ran to July. But as students renting shares houses after, the tenancy almost always ran July - July.

Which was fine for me as I worked whilst studying and just stayed there over summer working. Only issue was they tended to takes 3 months rent at a time to coincide with student loan payment dates . Which worked fine as a student but not in a mixed student/professional hmo after you've graduated .

Though I don't believe that would be allowed now.

Yup. My student kids and co tenants gave notice in advance of this coming into effect and have had positive replies.

When we have rented to students, it’s always been from the start of July til the end of June. Every LL we know does it that way so I can’t see it impacting most LLs.

@Fogwood most first years are in halls where the contract does run Sept to end June, so there shouldn’t be too many who need to pay double rent.

Any freshers who have gone for a room in a flat rather than halls (eg clearing so no halls accommodation left) should be on a rolling lease which they can just keep going if they want.

Suggestions about it being an Airbnb over the summer are for the birds. Not just because of the type of property but because of the infrastructure.

There won’t be an army of turnaround cleaners just waiting for 1 July to be employed on hundreds or thousands of flats in every city. The flats will be furnished for students but bedding and so on wouldn’t usually be included, possibly not cutlery and pots and pans etc.

And there probably aren’t hundreds of families wanting to rent a summer place for a week or two in Newcastle or Nottingham’s student areas, who are unable to travel there right now and use existing holiday flats or hotels near the sights.

There are literally thousands upon thousands of students looking for min wage work every summer. I don’t think landlords will struggle to find staff to clean flats.

Student accommodation is paid for termly. In line with the student loan payments. It didn't matter if the contract ends in June. Some students won't have access to more money until September.

Honestly, I disagree. An Airbnb turnaround clean is quite a specific skill to get done in the hours and isn’t an “every day” cleaning job. It happens on changeover which is often a Saturday and then nothing on other days. Not the most attractive summer job.

Firms or individuals that do it professionally will have all their own kit and access to a vehicle as well to get around the properties - again, a student flat won’t necessarily have a hoover, mop etc on hand, Sheets and towels will be changed from stock in the cleaner’s vehicle and go out to a laundry service - cleaners need to be quick and efficient.

The thousands of students looking for work
in a university city are presumably ones who have gone to their parents for the summer? As the whole point of this thesis is that student houses will be empty…

And I see you’ve ignored my other points about demand, bedding, kitchen items etc.

I’m having a minor panic: DD is currently in student house with tenancy that ran 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026. All tenants planning to move out by end June. As far as they know the LL hasn’t managed to let it for next year (been lots of issues with mould, rats, boilers breaking). Could they now be forced to pay rent for July as they’ve not given notice on 1 May to leave? I’ve not yet found anything in the regs that says they would be exempt.

Noted - I was responding to your point about an overlap on rent.

Whether or not the maintenance loan is sufficient to cover rent and other expenses is unfortunately rather location dependent anyway, but I think it’s true that the majority students are supplemented by earnings, savings and parents, because the maintenance loan doesn’t reflect the true costs of living in many, many uni cities.

As I and others have said before the 2 month notice can be mitigated by student landlords by starting tenancies on the 1st July.

What may prove more problematic for them is that it will only take 1 student to give notice for the lease to end. So if a student drops out under the new legislation they will only be stuck with paying 2 months rent. The remaining students and the landlords would hopefully work something out in this situation.

I haven’t “ignored” all your other points. To be honest a list of things a LL will need to do to earn rent on a vacant property isn’t unsolvable it’s just what most of us do to earn money. I can see the fact you used to be able to earn without working to that level over the summer is annoying but I don’t think tenants need to give you months of unwanted rent they have to work their socks off for (and let’s face it that’s far more work than cleaning and bedding etc) is fairer. Crucially neither does the law.

I think it’s going to be hugely helpful for students and their families.

I haven’t “ignored” all your other points.

Decided not to address them, then, even though they are all relevant as to why student homes as airbnbs won’t work. Tomayto, tomahto.

Crucially neither does the law.

Nothing in the law stops student landlords commencing contracts on 1 July, which many have been doing for years anyway.