When leasing a shared residence it can be difficult to figure out the details. Who decides where and who is accountable for what? The more people are engaged, the greater the number of issues that are asked. A very crucial questions is: should all tenants be included in the tenancy contract?
Maybe you’re a tenant contemplating moving to live with your partner in the near future. What are the rules for adding a new person on to an already-existing tenancy contract? Maybe you’ve found a great tenant for your house However, their college housemates have a bit less reliability in their response to messages — can you add them as an individual tenant?
If you’re a tenant, or a landlord with a question be assured that you’ll discover everything you need to learn and more here:
How do tenancy agreements function in the event of renting to other people?
The requirement for all tenants to be signed up to the contract of tenancy or not, depends on the type of tenancy agreement you’re talking about. First thing to be aware of is the three common types of tenancy agreements that you can rent to the other tenants:
A joint tenancy with a single contract for tenancy that tenants have to sign
Tenancies that are solely tenancy in which each tenant is the sole possession of a particular room (a bedroom, typically) and has their own contract with their landlord.
A sole tenancy, where the tenant is the landlord of the residence and signs their own contract to the “head” tenant to let other rooms
In joint tenancies each tenant has the same rights and agrees to the same conditions and terms that is why each tenant must be in the same agreement. This is due to the fact that all tenants have to agree to share the responsibility of the house. If, for instance, one tenant isn’t able to pay their share of rent at the close of the month the remaining tenants will likely have to pay the rent.
Sold tenancies are much simpler since tenants aren’t dependent on the people they share their space with to provide them with everything. Every tenant will have to make their own tenancy agreements with their landlord, and each tenant is responsible of their individual rent.
A sole tenancy, where one tenant acts as the resident landlord is a bit different. In this instance residents are the sole tenant that is required to sign a Tenancy Agreement together with the landlord who is also known as the “head landlord”. They can rent the other rooms, create their own lease agreements with sub-tenants and are responsible to collect rent and pay it to the head landlord.
Visit this website for a tenancy agreement template.
The addition of a new tenant an existing Tenancy agreement
As circumstances change and time goes by there are many reasons to consider including a new tenant in an existing tenancy contract. Maybe your acquaintance is stuck in a difficult area and needs a space to stay, or perhaps your companion’s overnight visits are becoming more frequent. Whatever the reason you need to think other than a person who is drinking milk or soaking your shampoo to the max.
Most lease agreements say that guests are not allowed to stay longer than 14 days during any six-week timeframe. After that, they’re considered a tenant and be required to inform your landlord be aware. While there’s no way to guarantee your landlord will allow an applicant It’s best to keep your word and stay clear of troubles. More about that in the next.
What’s the point of deciding who’s on the Tenancy agreement?
Tenancy agreements are created to protect both tenants and landlords It’s important to make sure that all the people who are required are covered by that agreement. For instance, if your landlord demands that you quit, there’s not much that you can do, if you weren’t part of the tenancy agreement in the first place to start with. A tenancy agreement guarantees the fair treatment of everyone affected.
Tenancy agreements are also the way landlords track who lives in their house and failing to record this correctly could put them in deep waters. For instance there are strict regulations regarding the overcrowding of a property when renting an HMO (a home which is shared with at least three persons who aren’t members of a family). The addition of a tenant that the landlord didn’t record or was unaware of and could be subject to an enormous penalty.
Does my spouse have to sign the lease agreement?
In the end your landlord will have to be aware that you’ll live with someone else at their residence. It all is dependent on the terms of the Tenancy agreement. For instance, you may be joint tenants in an agreement. You could also be sole tenants who have the terms of their own agreements or, sometimes, landlords accept one sole tenant in the contract who takes responsibility to the tenant who is not. This scenario is more likely when you’re married.
In any event it’s always better to speak to your landlord prior to moving in or adding an additional tenant to a tenancy agreement. This is the most effective way to ensure you’re both safe and, more importantly is that your landlord is in agreement to the move of your partner anyhow.
Some final suggestions…
If you’re thinking about the possibility of adding a new roommate to your home You might be asking whether landlords can charge per person? It’s yes. Your rent might rise with every new tenant due to the increase in wear and tear to the property, as well as the potential for damage. Your landlord could also charge an administrative cost for the lease to be altered.