Joint Tenancy - One party threatening not to pay

ktothema

Hi,

I'm asking for a friend so I don't have all the details, apologies for this.

My mate has gotten herself into a very bad situation with a man who's been emotionally and financially abusing her, but found herself pregnant by him so moved into a rental joint tenancy property with him. He has now hit her once.

Because she accidentally mentioned this in front of a family member, he went mental at her. He called the cops claiming she had trapped him in the house then left. My mate was very confused when they arrived but ended up breaking down and telling the police everything. As a result of this he came home with family members to act as bouncers as far as I can tell, and emptied his stuff from the property. They also cleared the entire house of food and drink, which is just weird AFAIC.

So great we all think - she's finally free :j :beer: :T

My friend is now obviously concerned he wont pay his half of the rent. It's been so long since I've been in a joint tenancy agreement I don't remember the ins and outs. The agency say she's liable but she's been told by others that they'd have to chase him first.

Does anyone know where she stands with regards to this?

robpw2

she is liable for the rent , when you get a joint tencacy if one party leaves both parties are jointly and severaly reliable this means they both pay or if one doesnt refuses to pay then the full amount can be claimed from the other tennant


i would perhaps suggest she talks to the letting agent about getting someone else to move in to cover rent or , seeing if they can end tencany early and she looks for a new home

ktothema

I suspected that may be the case, I just wanted some confirmation. And secretly hoped it wasn't of course.

My friend has already contacted them about trying to get new tenants in as soon as possible, so fingers crossed that'll help her out.

Thank you.

princeofpounds

The landlord can choose to pursue either or both parties for the full rent.

However, communication is advisable because landlords will normally prefer not to have to do that, and so a negotiated re-let is probably the best option. The landlord may ask for readvertising costs in return for allowing the early surrender of the tenancy (sometimes when a suitable tenant is found, sometimes right away).

If the landlord does keep her on the hook however, she could pursue the ex in the small claims court for his part of the rent. There will be an implied contract between the two of them, probably 50/50, particularly if he was paying part of the rent for a period and was on the tenancy agreement.

Up to her if it's worth the stress.