Do you have to leave a student tenancy in the summer?
The law is changing
It might be harder for your landlord to make you leave.
Renters' Rights Act changes start from 1 May 2026.
For now, your rights stay the same.
If you get an eviction notice
This advice is for full time students renting from a private landlord or letting agent.
You have different rights in student halls of residence.
If you get a notice before 1 May 2026
Your landlord might give you a:
section 21 eviction notice - they do not need a reason
section 8 eviction notice - they need a reason like rent arrears
Your landlord can only give you a section 21 in a fixed term tenancy if either:
the 2 months' notice period ends after the fixed term
your tenancy agreement had a break clause
A break clause is a term in your agreement that lets both you or the landlord give notice to end the tenancy early.
Get the notice checked
A student advice centre can check the eviction notice.
If the notice is valid, your landlord can ask the court to evict you after the notice ends.
If you stay past the end of the notice
Your landlord must ask the court for an order to make you leave. The latest date they can apply to court is 31 July 2026.
Most students move out after a valid notice to avoid the stress and costs of being evicted through court.
More on staying after a notice ends.
If you get a notice on or after 1 May 2026
Your landlord cannot give you a section 21 notice from 1 May 2026.
They could still give you a section 8 notice if they have a legal reason.
Reasons for eviction are called 'grounds' on the notice. The grounds have numbers.
Check if the notice mentions ground 4A
Ground 4A can be used in some student tenancies from 1 May 2026.
It means your landlord wants to rent the property to a new group of students.
Your landlord can only use ground 4A if both of these are true:
you share a kitchen or bathroom with at least 2 other students
you were all expected to be full time students during the tenancy
Your landlord cannot use ground 4A in any of these situations:
you only share with 1 other student
you live on your own or with your children
you share a house or flat with renters who are not students
your landlord wants to rent to non-students or as a holiday let
your landlord wants to sell or move in themselves
your landlord does not take the right steps to use ground
Your student landlord must take the right steps to use ground 4A this summer.
If they do not, they cannot evict you with this ground.
What your landlord must do to use ground 4A in summer 2026
First, your landlord must write to you to say they want to rent the property to a new group of full time students. They must do this by 31 May.
Then they can give you a section 8 notice by 30 July. The notice must:
mention ground 4A
give you at least 2 months' notice
tell you the earliest date court action can start
If you do not leave
Your landlord can apply to court for an eviction order.
The court cannot usually stop a ground 4A eviction if your landlord takes the right steps.
More on staying after the notice ends.
Check the notice for other grounds
Some common reasons for eviction are:
missed or late rent payments (grounds 8, 10 and 11)
too much noise or antisocial behaviour (grounds 7A and 14)
you break a term in your tenancy like smoking or subletting (ground 12)
The court can sometimes stop an eviction on these grounds.
Last updated: 14 April 2026
