Europe
Student accommodation regulation in the United Kingdom (2026)
The United Kingdom has no law on student residences, and housing does not have a single law either: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland regulate it separately. In England, from 1 May 2026, the Renters' Rights Act 2025 changed both the contract and the HMO exemption for student buildings, and membership of an approved management code weighs on both. Data follows UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.
The short answer
Housing is devolved: each nation has its own laws, and this page says which applies where it changes.
| What | Rule | Who applies it |
|---|---|---|
| Legal figure and HMO licence | Housing Act 2004, s. 254 and Part 2 | The local housing authority |
| Contract (England) | Housing Act 1988, as amended by the Renters' Rights Act 2025 | The courts and the local authority |
| Fire safety | Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 | The fire and rescue authority |
| Data | UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 | The Information Commission |
| AI | No act of its own; UK GDPR, Art. 22A onwards | The Information Commission |
Halls, PBSA and shared houses
There are three figures: halls of residence, run by a university; PBSA, student buildings from private operators, sometimes with a nomination agreement; and the shared house or HMO, occupied by people who do not form a single household and who share basic amenities (Housing Act 2004, s. 254). A student counts as living there as their main residence during the course (s. 259).
In England, an HMO of five or more people from two or more households needs a licence (s. 55), except a purpose-built flat in a block of three or more (SI 2018/221, art. 4). From 1 May 2026, a building occupied mainly by full-time students and managed by an educational establishment that belongs to one of two approved codes is not an HMO (Sch. 14, para. 3A; SI 2024/947, reg. 4A); private PBSA falls outside that exemption, and Wales keeps its own (para. 4). In Scotland, an HMO (there, three or more people who do not form one or two families) needs a licence unless exempt (Housing (Scotland) Act 2006, ss. 124 and 125); in Northern Ireland, the exemption reaches accredited private PBSA with more than fifteen occupants (SR 2019/36, reg. 3).
The contract: tenancy, licence and the Renters' Rights Act 2025
In England, the Housing Act 1988 only protects a tenancy of a dwelling as an assured tenancy (s. 1). From 1 May 2026, the Renters' Rights Act 2025 abolishes assured shorthold tenancies and makes assured tenancies periodic (ss. 1 and 2; SI 2026/421, reg. 2).
PBSA has its own way out: a student's contract is not an assured tenancy if it is granted by their institution or another specified one, or if whoever manages the building is a member of a specified code (Sch. 1, para. 8, in force since 27 December 2025). From 1 May 2026 the ANUK/Unipol code for larger developments not managed by educational establishments is specified for that purpose (SI 2026/327, reg. 3). In a student HMO, the landlord can recover possession between 1 June and 30 September if they gave written notice of that before the tenancy began (Ground 4A in Sch. 2).
In Wales, the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 treats tenancies and licences alike: both are "occupation contracts" (s. 7), and one between a university and its student can be ended on two months' notice (Sch. 8A, para. 3). In Scotland, a let to a student by their university or in PBSA with planning permission for students and thirty or more bedrooms is not a private residential tenancy (Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016, Sch. 1, para. 5).
Fire safety and management codes
In England and Wales, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires the responsible person for the building to assess and review the fire risk (art. 9), and the fire and rescue authority enforces it (art. 25). In Scotland, the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005, s. 54 requires it.
Management codes are approved under s. 233 of the Housing Act 2004; in England there are three (SI 2024/947, reg. 3): two for accommodation managed by educational establishments (ANUK/Unipol and Universities UK/GuildHE) and another from ANUK/Unipol, dated 27 February 2026, for the rest.
UK GDPR, transfers and AI
The UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 apply. Since 30 September 2026 the regulator is the Information Commission, which replaced the Information Commissioner (SI 2026/1015). For a residence that answers on WhatsApp: a lawful basis (Art. 6), information for the resident (Art. 13) and a contract with the provider (Art. 28).
Transfers: those from the UK to an EEA country are treated as approved by regulations (Data Protection Act 2018, Sch. 21, paras. 4 and 5). To the US, only if the recipient is in the UK Extension to the Data Privacy Framework (SI 2023/1028) or with Art. 46 safeguards, such as the clauses under s. 119A (Art. 44A). And the EU's adequacy decision for the UK remains valid until 27 December 2031 (Decision (EU) 2025/2574).
AI: Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 does not reach a UK residence (Art. 2(1)), and as of 19 October 2026 the UK has no AI act of its own. Arts. 22A to 22D of the UK GDPR apply to significant decisions based solely on automated processing (Art. 22A).
What the rules do not say
Worth knowing
That joining a code is compulsory. Breaching one does not in itself create liability (s. 233(5)), but the HMO exemption and the assured tenancy exemption depend on belonging to one. That calling the contract a licence takes it outside the law. The Housing Act 1988 does not define the difference, and in Wales it makes no difference (s. 7).
Nor is there a compulsory internal whistleblowing channel like the one in Spain's Law 2/2023: the Employment Rights Act 1996 protects workers who make disclosures (Part IVA) without setting a channel by size.
Where Bedel fits
Bedel answers on WhatsApp in the language the person writes in and sends to a person's phone whatever a machine should not decide, such as a serious fault. Its data lives in the European Union (Ireland) and the AI model runs in the US under standard contractual clauses. How that transfer is covered for UK data, and what changes in the contract, is discussed before signing.
Frequently asked questions
Does private PBSA in England grant assured tenancies from May 2026?
No, if the operator or whoever manages the building is a member of the ANUK/Unipol code for larger developments not managed by educational establishments, dated 27 February 2026, and the resident studies at a specified institution. That is what Schedule 1, paragraph 8, of the Housing Act 1988 provides, as amended by the Renters' Rights Act 2025, with that code specified from 1 May 2026. Outside a code, the contract can be a periodic assured tenancy.
Does a hall of residence in England need an HMO licence?
No, if it is occupied mainly by full-time students and managed by an educational establishment that belongs to one of the two codes set by the 2024 regulations: from 1 May 2026 it is not an HMO (Schedule 14, paragraph 3A, of the Housing Act 2004). Private PBSA is not covered by that exemption, although mandatory licensing does not reach purpose-built flats in blocks of three or more.
Can a UK residence keep its residents' data in the European Union?
Yes. The Data Protection Act 2018 treats transfers from the UK to European Economic Area countries as approved by regulations (Schedule 21, paragraphs 4 and 5). A contract with the provider that processes the data is still needed (Art. 28 UK GDPR), and residents must be informed (Art. 13). If the data then goes on to the US, that transfer needs its own cover.
Does the EU AI Act apply to a UK residence?
Not as a UK residence. Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 applies to providers that put systems into service in the Union, to deployers established there and to those in third countries when the output is used in the Union (Art. 2(1)). In the UK, the UK GDPR applies, with its Articles 22A to 22D on significant decisions based solely on automated processing.
What changes in Scotland and Wales?
In Scotland, a let to a student by their university, or in PBSA with planning permission for students and at least thirty bedrooms, is not a private residential tenancy, and an HMO, which there starts at three people who do not form one or two families, needs a licence unless exempt. In Wales, the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 treats tenancies and licences alike: both are occupation contracts, and one between a university and its student can be ended on two months' notice.
Bedel in the UK
- Student accommodation software on WhatsApp for the UKFor UK halls and PBSA: the building's WhatsApp answers residents in their language and every repair reaches one person, with its deadline.
- WhatsApp maintenance reporting for UK businessesFor any UK business with premises: staff report faults on WhatsApp, each one reaches whoever fixes it with a deadline, and every step keeps its time.
Other countries
- IrelandA figure of its own: student specific accommodation, within tenancy law and under the RTB since 2019, whether signed as a lease or as a licence.
- PortugalRules of its own for the building since January 2022 (Decree-Law 14/2022 and Ordinance 35-A/2022); the contract is a Civil Code tenancy and data goes through the GDPR and Law 58/2019.
- FranceThe résidence universitaire has a legal definition (Art. L631-12 of the Code de la construction et de l'habitation); the rest of student accommodation is let under the 1989 Act, as a furnished let or a bail mobilité.
- ItalyThe "struttura residenziale universitaria" has a legal definition (Legislative Decree 68/2012, Art. 13), split into collegi and residenze; letting a flat to students comes under Art. 5 of Law 431/1998.
- GermanyNo residence act: section 549(3) of the BGB cuts back tenant protection in a Studenten- oder Jugendwohnheim, and building rules and the data authority depend on each Land.
- NetherlandsNo residence act: Book 7 of the Civil Code gives student lettings the campus contract and the fixed-term contract, and the Bbl sets its own measurements for student housing.
- BelgiumThree student tenancy regimes, one per region, with different terms, deposits and exits; data protection and whistleblowing, by contrast, are federal.
- SpainThe starting point in Spain: which rule governs the legal figure, the contract, the building, the data and the AI of a student residence, with the guide for each.