Student Joint Tenancy conundrum

princeofpounds

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/pdf/SharedHouseAgreements.pdf

See note 1. I am no expert on this but if you go to landlord zone forums and catch a poster called Jeffrey you might be able to get more info.

dimbo61

So he signed a 12 months tenancy contract only 3/4 weeks ago with 7 other people and now he wants out!
Please dont tell me that he did not know any of the other tenants or there bad habits.
Is this a 3 storey property and a HMO which have no smoking allowed.
Report all the other tenants to the police and the uni as they are taking drugs.
His clothes will sink of pot and other students/tutors will think he is on drugs.
Inform the Landlord about the problem and he/she could write to the parents of the drug addicts about the current situation.
Write to the uni as the students are expecting to gain a degree but the uni would not be happy about the bad press

mynameisclare

cotleigh wrote: »

Or: get off his high horse about others' recreational drug use. If he doesn't want to do it, fair enough, but why let what others get up to bother him so much?

Because they are getting up to it in his home (presumably). I once had the misfortune to live in the opposite flat to someone that was using some 'legal high' type thing, and that was bad enough. I can't imagine having to live in the same house as her. She repeatedly left the door wide open, woke me up late at night, was (I suspect) the person that stole my post. Oh yeah and I had to get an ambulance out for her once after she started having a seizure.

There's nothing wrong with not wanting to live with such people.

Edit to add: I doubt she was paying her rent either, since I came home one day to find her landlord changing the locks. And then he told me she was giving out my flat number as her address.

embob74

cotleigh wrote: »

Or: get off his high horse about others' recreational drug use. If he doesn't want to do it, fair enough, but why let what others get up to bother him so much?

Seriously? You expect somebody to be au fait with illegal activity?
If the police ever decided to raid the house I doubt they would let the one innocent party off as they wouldn't know who had done what. So the student who doesn't do drugs would be lumped in with those who do and could end up being charged as it would be hard to prove innocence when there is drugs paraphernalia everywhere.

G_M

princeofpounds wrote: »

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/pdf/SharedHouseAgreements.pdf

See note 1. I am no expert on this but if you go to landlord zone forums and catch a poster called Jeffrey you might be able to get more info.

A very good point. If he signed as tenant 5 to 8 on the agreement, he cannot be liable for any rent I believe. From the link above:

"

(1) The maximum number of persons able to hold a joint interest in land is 4 (Trustees Act 1924
s34) Where there are more than 4 joint tenants the first 4 should be made tenants, with
subsequent residents being added to the agreement as occupiers. A special form of agreement

for this purpose has been developed by Legalhelpers.co.uk"

He could therefore just move out and stop paying rent. The landlord could
1) chase/threaten/sue him (and lose) or
2) demand the missing rent from one or all of the first four signatories to the contract.

But it's a complex area of law so I suggest you get this confirmed....!

Standy

G_M wrote: »

A very good point. If he signed as tenant 5 to 8 on the agreement, he cannot be liable for any rent I believe. From the link above:

"

(1) The maximum number of persons able to hold a joint interest in land is 4 (Trustees Act 1924
s34) Where there are more than 4 joint tenants the first 4 should be made tenants, with
subsequent residents being added to the agreement as occupiers. A special form of agreement

for this purpose has been developed by Legalhelpers.co.uk"

He could therefore just move out and stop paying rent. The landlord could
1) chase/threaten/sue him (and lose) or
2) demand the missing rent from one or all of the first four signatories to the contract.

But it's a complex area of law so I suggest you get this confirmed....!

He was second in the typed list of names which wasn't numbered or anything and 7th in the list of signatories at the end. Which counts?