Minister defends decision to exempt PBSA from periodic tenancy proposals

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Housing minister Eddie Hughes has attempted to justify why institutional landlords who run Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) are to be exempted from the Government’s proposal to move all tenancies in the PRS to periodic ones.

Hughes was asked by Conservative MP for Hendon Matthew Offord (pictured) what his department’s rationale is for the policy decision within the Fairer Renting White Paper, which has annoyed many private landlords who operate student houses, whose tenants will – if the government’s proposals become law – have to be offered periodic tenancies.

In response, Hughes said: “PBSA is distinct to the rest of the PRS.

“It caters specifically to student needs, is often restricted to housing students due to planning constraints, and it is not designed to offer long-term accommodation.

“Standards in privately managed PBSA are upheld by Government Codes, which outline the obligations of PBSA landlords and set benchmark standards for the accommodation they manage.

Compliance

“Compliance with The Codes also ensures that problems or disputes can be resolved promptly if they do occur. Currently around 95% of PBSA providers are signed up to The Codes.

“PBSA developments are an important part of student accommodation supply.

“Under our proposed reforms to the private rented sector, private PBSA providers who are signed up to a government-approved code will be exempt from assured status and therefore the new periodic tenancy system.

“This will make sure that PBSA can continue to provide efficiently run housing in line with the academic year for the students that choose to live there.”

Landlords of PRS student houses, which will not be exempt, means students will have to be offered periodic tenancies of a fixed length instead of ASTs even though the nature of student renting means this will be difficult to navigate legally.

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