Source · Select Committees · Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 2
2
Accepted in Part
Paragraph: 23
The one exception is the general student PRS market.
Recommendation
The one exception is the general student PRS market. The abolition of fixed-term contracts could make letting to students considerably less attractive to private landlords and so ultimately push up rents or reduce the availability of student rental properties, at a time when the market in many university towns and cities is already very tight. The exemption for purpose-built accommodation will only make the situation worse by potentially forcing students into that side of the market, which is already more expensive and less appropriate for students beyond the first year of study. We recognise, however, that some landlords might seek to abuse the exemption by letting to non-students and thereby circumventing the tenancy reforms. The Government should retain fixed-term tenancies in the entire student housing sector but require all landlords letting to students to sign up to one of the existing government-approved codes of conduct. In the longer term, the Government should consider replacing the existing codes with a single national code. It should also consider ways of preventing or deterring landlords from abusing the exemption, including by introducing financial penalties for those who do not let student accommodation primarily to non-students.
Government Response Summary
The government will introduce a ground for possession that will facilitate the yearly cycle of short-term student tenancies, but rejects retaining fixed terms as it unfairly locks students into contracts. It will not introduce codes which cover all student housing.
Paragraph Reference:
23
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
The government recognises that the student market is cyclical – and that removing section section 21 will mean landlords cannot guarantee possession each year for a new set of tenants. Having engaged across the sector, we understand the cyclical model is critical for landlords’ business models and ensures a timely and robust supply of student accommodation. We will therefore introduce a ground for possession that will facilitate the yearly cycle of short-term student tenancies. This will enable new students to sign up to a property in advance, safe in the knowledge they will have somewhere to live the next year. Retaining fixed terms for students, as per the committee’s recommendation, would not in itself mean properties are available at the end of an academic year for next year’s students. Unless notice is served, tenants have a right to remain in a property when a fixed term ends, and a landlord must still use a ground for possession or section 21 to evict them. We believe retaining fixed terms would unfairly lock students into contracts, meaning they could not leave if a property is poor quality, or their circumstances change. Student tenants should have the same flexibility as others. We do not think it is viable to introduce codes which cover all student housing. There are a very large number of private rented sector student properties which would make enforcement extremely challenging, and further regulation would be a significant burden on small landlords. There are key distinctions between private housing rented to students and purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) which warrants a different approach. PBSA is designed specifically with students in mind and caters for their needs, often with additional facilities or support services that would not be available in a standard home rented to students.