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Student staff member Bilan Abdullahi reflects on the Renters’ Rights Act and what it means for students. This is part of the Student Energy Action for Life project, which addresses the critical challenges faced by students as they navigate the complexities of the home energy system.
For decades the housing crisis has left university students struggling. NUS UK found that 84% of students have experienced environmental issues in their homes, with half of that figure constituted by mould and mildew, and 36% struggled to cover housing costs.
Amidst a cost of living, housing and energy crisis, Visa reports that 84% of students feel “overwhelmed” by their finances.
The Renters’ Rights Act has introduced sweeping changes to the rental market, the likes of which have not been seen in the last century. Its historic legislation will ban Section 21 evictions, or ‘no fault evictions’, and from 2030, will apply requirements under the Decent Homes Standard to all Private Rented Sector (PRS) homes for the first time.
The reforms come as a direct response to the frustrations amongst working people with the increasingly feudalistic system that is the UK housing market. According to the Office for National Statistics, average rent in the UK rose by 4% to £1,368 in just the 12 months between December 2024 and December 2025. Meanwhile, the Guardian reports up to 2.6 million young people are living in poor-quality housing, characterised by inefficient or broken heating, electrics and plumbing and the presence of damp.
The bill abolishes fixed-term assured short hold tenancies, which most current student rental contracts fall under. This means that all student tenancies will become rolling agreements, allowing students to terminate their contract and leave at any point given the provision of a two months’ notice. This change could give more students agency to move around and change contracts.
However, the housing bill has come under fire for leaving loopholes and blind spots that leave students and young people at risk.
The decision on how Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSAs) will be regulated under the bill has remained unclear, and this lack of clarity presents a massive blind spot in the student housing market. A new report found that PBSA rent costs rose by nearly 20% from 2021-2024. As private providers have continued to dominate the market, and prices have soared students have increasingly chosen to live at home with their family during university.Where does this leave students who disadvantaged who don’t have a family residence available to them? As the government flounders on regulating PBSAs, postgrad students, mature students, second- and third-year undergraduates and various others reliant on them remain forgotten by lawmakers.
Whilst the reforms give more protection for renters from no fault eviction, students have been explicitly denied this – Ground 4a rights have been maintained to allow landlords to evict students at the end of the academic year. So only a proportion students are protected from eviction; and a proportion landlord will maintain the “right” to keep students in 12-month long tenancies. The implication that not all students will be entitled to the Bill’s protection is inconsistent and unfair and these rules could worsen already existing inequalities.
We still have to wait until landlords will be forced to make our homes fit for study.
The government has announced a staggered timeline to give the PRS time to adjust to the reforms. Meanwhile, students who have already been left behind by the legislation will now have to wait even longer for safe, decent housing. The collapsing state of housing has left young people with poorer mental and physical health outcomes and more at risk of poverty. These concerning trends prove that the Renters’ Rights Bill might end up being too little too late – the government needs to take decisive actions to safeguard young people’s rights to safe, decent and affordable housing.
It has become increasingly clear that the UKs students and graduates have become an overexploited and unheard underclass. Despite this, students remain a powerful voice of reason and force for immense change. As a student, you could get involved in several ways: