England’s student housing framework changes on 1 May 2026 as the first phase of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 is switched on. The Student Accommodation (Miscellaneous Provisions) (England) Regulations 2026 align with that timetable by confirming a codes-based route for purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) and preserving a student-specific possession route for existing tenancies. (gov.uk)
The instrument updates the student accommodation regime so that it now operates by reference to paragraph 3A of Schedule 14 to the Housing Act 2004-‘buildings occupied by students: England’-inserted by section 62 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. Paragraph 3A is the statutory basis for treating qualifying student buildings as ‘excepted accommodation’ when code conditions are met. (legislation.gov.uk)
Approved management codes remain central. The ANUK/Unipol code for developments managed by educational establishments (approved on 5 September 2024) and the UUK/GuildHE Accommodation Code of Practice (approved on 11 March 2025) continue in force; the 2026 Regulations add the latest ANUK/Unipol code for larger developments not managed or controlled by educational establishments, bringing private PBSA into the same approval framework. (legislation.gov.uk)
In practice, a student building in England qualifies as excepted accommodation where it is occupied solely or principally by students and management or control is exercised by an educational establishment that is a member of an approved code. The approach also covers cases where the students’ own institution is not a member but another code-member educational establishment manages or controls the building. This flows from paragraph 3A and the code‑approval power in section 233 of the 2004 Act. (legislation.gov.uk)
For licensing, the policy intent is unchanged: where a PBSA operator sits within an approved code, the block falls outside mandatory HMO licensing (Part 2, Housing Act 2004), while standards are enforced through the approved code and wider housing law. (legislation.gov.uk)
The Regulations also address tenancy status. Paragraph 8 of Schedule 1 to the Housing Act 1988 excludes certain student lettings from assured tenancy status where the letting is by a specified educational institution or other specified body. By bringing members of the ANUK/Unipol non‑educational providers’ code into that specified class, compliant PBSA operators can continue to grant common‑law student tenancies when letting to students at specified institutions from 1 May 2026. (legislation.gov.uk)
Transitional arrangements are confirmed for existing student contracts that convert to assured periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026. Where the operator belongs to an approved code, providers retain access to a modified Ground 4A (student accommodation) to recover possession in line with the academic cycle. (gov.uk)
Operationally, providers should ensure code membership is in place by May, update tenancy documentation for new lets created on or after 1 May 2026, and-where they hold pre‑existing assured tenancies-issue the government ‘information sheet’ to tenants by 31 May 2026 alongside any prescribed notices required to maintain the transitional position. (gov.uk)
Local authorities and universities will need to plan for a membership‑based test rather than a static institutional list when assessing whether PBSA is excepted from HMO licensing. Councils should also prepare enforcement teams for the Act’s wider changes; MHCLG has indicated new‑burdens funding for 2025/26, with further support expected into 2026/27. (gov.uk)
Territorial scope remains consistent with predecessor regulations: the instrument extends to England and Wales but applies in relation to accommodation in England. (legislation.gov.uk)