Monday, 1 December 2025
The Renters’ Rights Act in PBSA – Understanding the Implementation Framework
The Renters’ Rights Act received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. The Government has announced that the principal changes to residential tenure will take effect on 1 May 2026. This webinar will outline what that implementation date is likely to mean for PBSA providers and highlight the contractual and operational issues they may need to consider in the run-up to commencement.
Spaces Available
Agenda
2.00pm - 3.20pm
Online via Zoom
Speakers
Hilary Crook, Hatch Legal
Hilary Crook is a solicitor with over 25 years’ experience of advising universities and other organisations working in and with the higher education sector. She qualified as a trainer through the Hotel and Catering Industry Training Board, and is one of Unipol’s regular panel of speakers.
Hilary has earned recognition in the legal sector, both in the Legal 500 and Chambers Directory. The firm she founded, Hatch Legal, is winner of the Global Law Experts’ boutique category: Commercial Property Law Firm of the Year in England - The North West – 2019.
Outside the conference room, Hilary runs a busy law practice advising on a range of student accommodation issues, from nomination agreements and head leasing to student misconduct and dissatisfaction. Her expertise in landlord and tenant law is complemented by her knowledge of consumer law, data protection, equality and human rights, as well as a down-to-earth approach to negotiating and problem-solving. She has a wealth of experience of adjudicating tenancy deposit disputes.
Victoria Tolmie-Loverseed, Director of Standards, Unipol Student Homes
Victoria Tolmie-Loverseed has worked in housing and HE since 2004, including student accommodation, the private rented sector and social housing. She works closely with HEIs’, Local Authorities, Governments and major suppliers to raise standards and address student needs through her work leading Unipol’s accreditation and research area. She is an experienced non-exec director and has sat on the boards of two housing associations.
Details
About this session
The Act contains provisions that could enable PBSA providers to fall outside the assured tenancy regime, subject to regulations that have not yet been made. Membership of the Unipol/ANUK National Codes will be a relevant factor, but it is not the only one. No automatic exemption for all a member’s rentals should be assumed at this stage.
A key transitional issue is the point at which tenure (the type of tenancy) is legally determined. Does a pre-May booking for the 2026–2027 academic year mean the tenancy is covered by the current tenure regime or the new one?
The answer lies in the legal effect of each provider’s own documentation, procedures and the contractual structure they use. Using insights gained from the webinar, PBSA providers will be able to review any existing 2026–2027 arrangements they already have in place to make sure they understand their likely effect.
This session will clarify the legal concepts relevant to transitional questions and provide an overview of the issues that providers should be alert to. It will not give legal advice and will not address provider-specific drafting. The aim is to equip attenders with a clear understanding of the framework that they can then use to obtain accurate, tailored advice for their own operations.
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