Student lettings in central London — how we rent to international and UK students under the Renters' Rights Act 2025
Most international students renting in central London used to pay 12 months' rent up front when they could not provide a UK guarantor. For an international Master's student moving to a £2,400-per-month flat near University College London, that meant a £28,800 cash payment before keys. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 has ended that pathway. Under the post-RRA regime, no landlord or agent can lawfully accept rent in advance above one month after the first payment cycle. We have built a replacement that works specifically for students. Through Goodlord Guarantor, full-time UK and international students in Higher Education can secure a tenancy in central London without a UK guarantor, without 12 months upfront, and without their income being assessed against UK earnings thresholds. The product is RRA-native, paid for by the student once at the start of the tenancy, and covers the full duration of the tenancy for up to three years. This page sets out how it works, what it costs the student, what the parents and family need to know, and how we walk an international student through the application from first enquiry to move-in.
The post-RRA problem — and why students are the most affected group
Before 1 May 2026, a student without a UK guarantor had two routes into a London tenancy: pay 12 months' rent up front (typical for international students whose parents had the means to do so), or persuade a friend or relative resident in the UK with sufficient income to sign on as guarantor. Both routes are functionally closed under the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Section 6 of the Act prohibits landlords and agents from accepting offers above the advertised rent. Sections elsewhere in the Act limit rent in advance to one month after the first payment cycle. The fixed-term tenancy that 12 months upfront was effectively pricing for has been replaced with the assured periodic tenancy regime, where the tenant can give two months' notice at any time. Charging 12 months' rent for a tenancy the tenant can end in 60 days is no longer commercially or legally workable.
Students are the most affected group because students disproportionately rely on the 12-months-upfront pathway. International students do not have UK credit history, UK earnings, or a UK-resident guarantor with sufficient income to meet a typical landlord's affordability check. UK students who are at university often have parents whose income would meet the test, but who are not always willing to sign a personal guarantee. The Goodlord Guarantor product, backed by Hadron UK Insurance Company Limited and administered by Elevate Specialty Limited, is the structural replacement. Its eligibility criteria explicitly include students as a category in their own right.
The student exemption from the income test
Standard Goodlord Guarantor eligibility requires the tenancy to meet a tenancy-affordability rating of 2.0 or higher (verified at referencing). For a £2,400-per-month tenancy, that means the tenants between them need to evidence annual income of roughly £57,600. For an international student paying their own way through a UK Master's programme, that figure is not achievable on student earnings alone. The product accounts for this. Under the Goodlord Guarantor eligibility criteria (FY26Q2), UK and international students are eligible without meeting the income requirement, provided all tenants on the tenancy are full-time students in Higher Education. The eligibility test for a student tenancy is enrolment status, not income.
The practical effect is that an international Master's student at LSE, an undergraduate at UCL, a PhD candidate at Imperial, a postgraduate at King's College London, or a foundation student at any central London university can apply through us for a managed-property tenancy and qualify for Goodlord Guarantor purely on the basis of being in Higher Education. The student does not need to evidence UK earnings, family income, or a UK-resident guarantor. The student's CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies) and enrolment letter from the university are what we need at referencing.
What the student actually pays
On a representative central London student let at £2,400 per calendar month, the pre-move-in cash position breaks down as follows.
- First month's rent: £2,400. Paid through the Goodlord platform on tenancy execution. Under post-RRA Insured Event 11, the landlord has rent protection from day one even where the keys are handed over before the rent fully clears.
- Tenancy deposit: ~£2,769 (five weeks' rent under Tenant Fees Act 2019). Held in a government-approved deposit-protection scheme, refundable at end of tenancy subject to the standard deductions for damage and arrears. The deposit cap is statutory and we cannot lawfully take more.
- Holding deposit at application: £553 (one week's rent). Offset against the first month's rent at move-in, so this is not an additional payment — it just shifts the payment forward to take the property off the market while we reference. The 15-day Deadline for Agreement applies. See the Holding Deposits page for the full mechanics.
- Goodlord Guarantor fee: £2,400 (one month's rent). One-off payment to Goodlord at the start of the tenancy. Covers the full tenancy up to three years. No renewal payments and no annual fee. The fee is paid by the tenant (typically the parent or family on the student's behalf); the landlord pays nothing.
The total pre-move-in cash position is approximately £7,569 — first month rent plus deposit plus one-off Guarantor fee, with the holding deposit offsetting the first month rent. Versus the pre-RRA pathway of 12 months upfront on the same property (£28,800), the new structure unlocks the tenancy at roughly a quarter of the historic cash requirement. The remaining 11 months of rent are paid monthly as standard, which is the same way the student would have been paying through their UK bank account in any case.
For a £1,600-per-month room in a shared student let, the equivalent figures are: first month £1,600, deposit ~£1,846, Goodlord Guarantor fee £1,600, total cash to move ~£5,046 (versus pre-RRA £19,200 upfront).
What the family needs to know
Parents and family members are usually involved in the decision, and often pay the upfront cash from outside the UK. The relevant points for the family are these. First, the Goodlord Guarantor fee is paid once to Goodlord (not to the landlord or to Harvey W James). It is not a deposit; it is the cost of the professional guarantor service, comparable to the cost of professional reference checking. Second, the family does not need to sign a personal guarantee. The whole point of the product is that Goodlord becomes the guarantor instead of a family member, so the parent does not take on contingent liability for the rent. Third, the cover lasts up to three years, which typically covers the full Bachelor's degree period or two cycles of Master's-level study. There is no annual renewal payment. Fourth, the family can pay the fee from any country into Goodlord's UK collection account in sterling via international transfer; we provide the Goodlord transfer details at application.
For families coming from countries with currency-export controls or banking restrictions (notably mainland China and several other jurisdictions), our China Desk team handles the international payment flow directly. See the China Desk page for the specific overseas-payment pathway.
The right-to-rent check for international students
Under the Immigration Act 2014, every tenant in England must pass a right-to-rent check before the tenancy starts. For an international student, this is usually straightforward and is one of the things we handle in the application workflow.
- Students with a Student visa or Tier 4 visa. We verify through the Home Office's online right-to-rent service using the student's share code (a 9-character code the student generates from their UKVI account). The check is digital, instant, and records the right-to-rent period for the duration of the visa. We retain the evidence on file as required by the Act.
- Students with a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP). We verify against the physical BRP or, where the student has switched to a digital eVisa, against their share code as above. From October 2024 the UKVI has been transitioning all BRP holders to digital eVisas, so for new tenancies starting from autumn 2026 the share-code route is now standard.
- EU/EEA students with pre-settled or settled status. We verify via share code generated from the UK Visas and Immigration online service.
- Students yet to receive their visa. A student whose CAS has been issued but whose visa has not yet been granted cannot pass a right-to-rent check until the visa is in place. We can hold a property with a holding deposit pending the visa, subject to the 15-day Deadline for Agreement (extendable by written agreement). Most central London students receive their visa within 6-8 weeks of submitting the application; we plan the timeline backwards from the academic-year start.
The right-to-rent check covers the student's right to be in the UK for the tenancy period, and we re-check at renewal where a visa is due to expire during the tenancy. The check is a legal requirement on the landlord; failing the check (where the student cannot demonstrate the right to rent) is a Tenant Fees Act 2019 ground for retaining the holding deposit. See the Holding Deposits page for the four lawful retention grounds.
Which universities our student lettings cover
We let across central London with a particular concentration of student properties in areas serving the major universities. The catchments we cover most regularly include Bloomsbury and Holborn (UCL, Birkbeck, SOAS, the School of Pharmacy, UCL Slade); the City and the South Bank (LSE, King's College London, City University, the Royal Veterinary College's central sites); South Kensington and Earl's Court (Imperial College London, the Royal College of Music, the Royal College of Art, Imperial's biomedical sites); Whitechapel, Mile End, and Aldgate (Queen Mary University of London, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the Bart's Cancer Institute); Camberwell, New Cross, and Peckham (Goldsmiths, University of the Arts London Camberwell, King's Denmark Hill campus); and the Olympic Park area (the Queen Mary Mile End campus and UCL East). For specific area coverage, contact the lettings team on lettings@harveywjames.com with the university and proposed start date.
The Lettings Valuation Guide v2.0 methodology (Days on Market, Four Week Rule, August demand peak, Monday-launch effect) applies specifically to the student rental market, which peaks in July-August for September move-ins. Students who start their search early — typically in May or June — have materially more property choice and stronger negotiating position on the advertised rent. Students who arrive in London to start a search in late August are searching in the tightest part of the cycle. We start working with students from January or February for the following September.
How the application works step by step
The end-to-end pathway from first enquiry to keys is as follows. First, the student or family makes an enquiry via the website or by emailing lettings@harveywjames.com with the proposed university, course start date, and rent budget. Second, we shortlist properties and arrange viewings (virtual viewings are available for students still overseas, with photo and video walkthroughs supplied in advance). Third, the student selects a property and pays the one-week holding deposit, which takes the property off the market and triggers the referencing workflow. Fourth, we run referencing through Goodlord Pro or Priority tier with the student's enrolment letter (or CAS), passport, and right-to-rent share code. Where the Goodlord Guarantor product is in use, we run the eligibility check at this stage and confirm with the student. Fifth, the tenancy paperwork is generated on the Goodlord platform; the student e-signs from anywhere in the world; the first month's rent, deposit, and Guarantor fee are collected via the Goodlord platform. Sixth, on the start date, the keys are released and the student moves in.
For a student who is still overseas at the point of signing, the entire process can be completed remotely. We do not require the student to be in the UK to view, sign, or pay. Move-in is the first moment the student physically needs to be at the property, and we coordinate the timing of the move-in with the student's arrival flight or train.
The landlord side — why a Goodlord-Guarantor-backed tenancy is a strong landlord proposition
The Goodlord Guarantor product is, from the landlord's perspective, equivalent to a tenancy with a UK-resident professional guarantor on the agreement. The underlying Hadron UK Rent Protection and Legal Expenses policy continues to apply normally, so the landlord gets 100% rent until vacant possession (no month cap), eviction legal costs, and the £1,000 dilapidations top-up — see the Rent Protection page for the full landlord-facing cover. The Guarantor product does not add cost to the landlord. The fee is paid entirely by the tenant. For landlords specifically focused on the new-build sector that hosts most central London student lettings, see the New-Build Specialists page.
Where to look next
For the wider tenant lifecycle on a Harvey W James managed property, see the Tenants page. For the application-stage holding-deposit mechanics, see the Holding Deposits page. For the new statutory right to request a pet in a student let, see Pet Requests. For the post-Renters' Rights Act framework that drives all of the above, see The Renters' Rights Act 2025. For the China-specific application pathway, see the China Desk page. For specific questions, see the FAQ. For terminology, see the Glossary.
Useful contacts and registers
- Student lettings and applications: lettings@harveywjames.com, 020 3865 1500
- General enquiries: info@harveywjames.com
- Aftercare during tenancy: aftercare@harveywjames.com
- China Desk (Mandarin support, overseas-payment workflow): see the China Desk page
- Property Redress Scheme (agent redress): membership PRS010914 — verify here.
- Propertymark Client Money Protection: membership M0243538 — verify here.
- Information Commissioner's Office (data protection): registration ZA312485 — verify here.
This page describes Harvey W James' operational approach to student lettings under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 (in particular sections 6 and 8 on rent-in-advance and bidding, and the assured periodic tenancy regime in Part 1), the Immigration Act 2014 (right-to-rent), and the Tenant Fees Act 2019 (deposit and holding-deposit caps). The Goodlord Guarantor service is operated by Oh Goodlord Limited and backed by underlying rent protection insurance underwritten by Hadron UK Insurance Company Limited and administered by Elevate Specialty Limited; eligibility criteria are as published by Goodlord and may be subject to change. The cash figures above are representative worked examples; the actual figures for any tenancy depend on the rent level and the property's specific terms. This is not legal or financial advice; for your specific situation seek independent advice. Last reviewed against Essential Terms and Charges v2.1.5 (22 May 2026).