Original signers of tenancy contract replaced but landlord not told

thesaint

G_M wrote: »

YOU are breaking the law. If you sublet (as you are), you are the landlord to the sub-tenants. If they give you a deposit (which they have) then you must register it. Failure to do so makes you liable to the penalty....

There is no requirement to protect the deposits, as he is a resident landlord.

G_M

thesaint wrote: »

There is no requirement to protect the deposits, as he is a resident landlord.

Oops!

You're right of course. Getting carried away!

Thrugelmir

thesaint wrote: »

There is no requirement to protect the deposits, as he is a resident landlord.

Wonder if the income has been declared to the tax authorities?

G_M

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Wonder if the income has been declared to the tax authorities?

Assuming it exceeds £4250 pa.

[Deleted User]

This sounds like a mess, but then you know that...

I actually have a situation similar to the one you are looking for - all three people living here are on the tenancy contract, we are responsible for finding new housemates when one leaves, but if it takes a bit longer than a month and the room is empty for a bit, the landlady doesn't ask us to cover the rent. The contract says we are still responsible for the rent, but my landlady is very nice and so doesn't expect us to in practice.

However, I am very lucky to be in this situation, and it's based on the fact that I have a good relationship with the landlady, I've been here for four years and she trusts me. I suspect if I had broken the tenancy agreement and sublet rooms without informing her what was going on, she wouldn't be so amenable.

G_M

[Deleted User] wrote:

This sounds like a mess, but then you know that...

I actually have a situation similar to the one you are looking for - all three people living here are on the tenancy contract, we are responsible for finding new housemates when one leaves, but if it takes a bit longer than a month and the room is empty for a bit, the landlady doesn't ask us to cover the rent. The contract says we are still responsible for the rent, but my landlady is very nice and so doesn't expect us to in practice.

However, I am very lucky to be in this situation, and it's based on the fact that I have a good relationship with the landlady, I've been here for four years and she trusts me. I suspect if I had broken the tenancy agreement and sublet rooms without informing her what was going on, she wouldn't be so amenable.

This, of course, is an amicable and pragmatic solution. Being flexible like this over the rent is to the LL's advantage in that she retains a reliable and trusted tenant.

However, when you DO find a replacement,
a) does she issue a new joint tenancy (or execute a Deed of Variation) and
b) does she return the deposit and take/register a new one

Although it's great when tenants & landlords deal with matters in an informal way rather than quoting/adhering rigidly to legal rights, a certain degree of formality is wise, like keeping the paperwork & finance up to date with the actual situation in the property.

someanonbloke

OK, thanks for all the replies. As far as the official line is concerned, it sounds like most of the issues have been covered. In practice, I think my landlord will acquiesce but it's always a question of how I present the problem to her, which is why I'm trying to have it all figured out before approaching her. She's elderly and if I present her with problems she'll get angry whereas if I present the situation in a way which is easy to resolve then it'll more likely be fixed.

The LL will see the other named (now departed) individuals on the original contract as parties to whom she owes deposits. Those individuals have been replaced and so, in effect, she owes the deposits to the 'replacements' (whether the LL sees it like that is another matter of course but I think she will because it'll be easier that way). Of course, by subletting, I've created new contracts with the replacement tenants from whom I've got deposits.

If I subtract my share of the orginal deposit, the landlord will have a balance on the original deposit with no claimaints.

[Deleted User]

G_M wrote: »

This, of course, is an amicable and pragmatic solution. Being flexible like this over the rent is to the LL's advantage in that she retains a reliable and trusted tenant.

However, when you DO find a replacement,
a) does she issue a new joint tenancy (or execute a Deed of Variation) and
b) does she return the deposit and take/register a new one

Although it's great when tenants & landlords deal with matters in an informal way rather than quoting/adhering rigidly to legal rights, a certain degree of formality is wise, like keeping the paperwork & finance up to date with the actual situation in the property.

Thankfully yes, she issues a new joint tenancy each time someone moves out/in, and she registers all the deposits in a scheme as she should. Like I say, I'm extremely lucky! She has also never put the rent up in 4 years, and it's very low for the area I'm in.