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Have we got ourselves in a mess already? Two bed flatshare - one name on contract
helpmeimagraduate
Posts: 23 Forumite
Hi there, I am a recent law graduate and am moving to London for work. My friend and I buddied up to find a place and we found a nice two bedroom flat. The viewing was arranged by an agent of the landlord and this company manages the property.
We liked it so much that we contacted the agent and went in this morning to pay the deposit which in total was £1200. We both paid half of this each and the rest of the deposit and six week's rent needs to be paid before the move in date of July 10th so we will also halve this.
The estate agent printed out the contracts and I read it through and everything seemed fine. For the whole property the ***rent*** (i.e. not purchase) was £1300 PCM but the agents/property management people told us that only one of us needs to sign the contract.
My friend agreed to sign it under her name. I.E. My name is not on the contract, the references required are all for her. In essence, the tenancy agreement is between the landlord and my friend, there is no contract with me. This was all hastily done and was not properly explained and it wasn't explained what sort of tenancy agreement this was.
Anyway, my friend signed the agreement and in terms of rent, she will pay the rent to the landlord and I am responsible for giving her my share of the rent i.e. my name is NOT on the contract and I do not pay rent direct to the landlord.
I know this is a stupid question, but what kind of tenancy is this exactly? Is this dodgy? What sort of reasons would there be for only having one of two people on the contract? Can I derive legal rights from the contract between my friend and the landlord? What sort of rights do I have?
The agent did seem professional - it was in a nice office in West London The move in date is next week and everything else seemed fine. The flat is nice and the location is great, the rent is fantastic for what it is - I want to go ahead with it and move in but wanted to consult this website for your opinions?
What now seems to be the case and what was not explained at the time my friend signed the contract is that I am either an excluded occupier, a lodger or a subletter - I have no idea what I am. But none of these have particularly strong tenancy rights? What is also the case is that my friend will be 100% liable for the rent.
What do we do?? Can we ask the estate agent to add my name and make me a joint tenant? Would the landlord even know that I am going to be occupying a room? An estate agent wouldn't go ahead and just create a sub-lease without the landlord's knowledge or permission would they?
Summary:
A and B flat hunting. A and B choose a flat. C is the agent. Contract is entered into for a tenancy agreement between A and C.
P.S. The contract between my friend and the landlord states that our deposit is going into a deposit protection scheme.
We liked it so much that we contacted the agent and went in this morning to pay the deposit which in total was £1200. We both paid half of this each and the rest of the deposit and six week's rent needs to be paid before the move in date of July 10th so we will also halve this.
The estate agent printed out the contracts and I read it through and everything seemed fine. For the whole property the ***rent*** (i.e. not purchase) was £1300 PCM but the agents/property management people told us that only one of us needs to sign the contract.
My friend agreed to sign it under her name. I.E. My name is not on the contract, the references required are all for her. In essence, the tenancy agreement is between the landlord and my friend, there is no contract with me. This was all hastily done and was not properly explained and it wasn't explained what sort of tenancy agreement this was.
Anyway, my friend signed the agreement and in terms of rent, she will pay the rent to the landlord and I am responsible for giving her my share of the rent i.e. my name is NOT on the contract and I do not pay rent direct to the landlord.
I know this is a stupid question, but what kind of tenancy is this exactly? Is this dodgy? What sort of reasons would there be for only having one of two people on the contract? Can I derive legal rights from the contract between my friend and the landlord? What sort of rights do I have?
The agent did seem professional - it was in a nice office in West London The move in date is next week and everything else seemed fine. The flat is nice and the location is great, the rent is fantastic for what it is - I want to go ahead with it and move in but wanted to consult this website for your opinions?
What now seems to be the case and what was not explained at the time my friend signed the contract is that I am either an excluded occupier, a lodger or a subletter - I have no idea what I am. But none of these have particularly strong tenancy rights? What is also the case is that my friend will be 100% liable for the rent.
What do we do?? Can we ask the estate agent to add my name and make me a joint tenant? Would the landlord even know that I am going to be occupying a room? An estate agent wouldn't go ahead and just create a sub-lease without the landlord's knowledge or permission would they?
Summary:
A and B flat hunting. A and B choose a flat. C is the agent. Contract is entered into for a tenancy agreement between A and C.
P.S. The contract between my friend and the landlord states that our deposit is going into a deposit protection scheme.
0
Comments
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Surely a recent law grad would be able to sort/understand this without advice on here?I am not a cat (But my friend is)0
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helpmeimagraduate wrote: »...it was in a nice office in West London and there were English people working there.
Oh well, must be above board then! Strange comment (some may even say offensive) - but each to their own I suppose. Personally, diversity and tolerance is the main reason why I love living in West London...
IMO, at the moment, your friend is the tenant and you're a lodger. No legal rights, but no obligations either - if you choose to move out she'd be stuck owing the full rent for the duration of the contract.0 -
Oh well, must be above board then! Strange comment (some may even say offensive) - but each to their own I suppose. Personally, diversity and tolerance is the main reason why I love living in West London...
IMO, at the moment, your friend is the tenant and you're a lodger. No legal rights, but no obligations either - if you choose to move out she'd be stuck owing the full rent for the duration of the contract.
Sorry, I didn't mean it to be offensive at all! I worded that very unfortunately and am very sorry for any offense. I just meant that it felt very legitimate and established.
Can I ask them to create a joint tenancy? Why would they advertise the property as being a two bed property and then create a tenancy only with one tenant? Doesn't that seem weird to you?0 -
Much good advice already given here:
http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?56288-Two-bed-flat-for-two-sharers-agent-said-the-contract-only-needs-to-be-in-one-name/page20 -
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Are you sure you are a law graduate? This sounds like an essay question designed to elicit the legal differences between a tenant and a bare licencee (lodger).
If it is a real life situation, I don't really see how you got yourself into this situation or what it is that you don't understand. The landlord and your friend have a contract. You are not a party to that contract. How you came to enter into a contract whereby you and your friend pay half the deposit each, but do not ensure that the contract is in joint names, who knows - especially since you have presumably just come through three years renting as a student with joint tenancies and all that entails.
Confused MSE'rI'm a retired employment solicitor. Hopefully some of my comments might be useful, but they are only my opinion and not intended as legal advice.0 -
In what way are they biased? They appear to have just repeated the same facts to you as people here have.helpmeimagraduate wrote: »They're slightly biased landlords though.0 -
zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »Are you sure you are a law graduate? This sounds like an essay question designed to elicit the legal differences between a tenant and a bare licencee (lodger).
If it is a real life situation, I don't really see how you got yourself into this situation or what it is that you don't understand. The landlord and your friend have a contract. You are not a party to that contract. How you came to enter into a contract whereby you and your friend pay half the deposit each, but do not ensure that the contract is in joint names, who knows - especially since you have presumably just come through three years renting as a student with joint tenancies and all that entails.
Confused MSE'r
I am a law graduate but up until the point of signing the paperwork it had been the assumption that it would be a joint tenancy. It was only when she said we only need the contract to be in one name that I started asking questions. She assured me that I am a tenant (I didn't think too much of that). She made me and my friend fill in separate pieces of paper with our names and next of kin. I honestly didn't think of the ins and outs of what tenancy this was.
So far the contract between my friend and the landlord has been signed. Part of the deposit has been paid (half) and the rest is due before we move in. What should I do? Please advise me objectively - I know it might sound like I am an incompetent law student but would appreciate knowing whether these contracts are normal or not?
Should I immediately phone the letting agency tomorrow and demand that it be adjusted to a joint tenancy? We haven't moved in yet.0 -
If the tenancy has been signed between your friend and the landlord, YOU cannot phone anyone and demand anything as YOU are not on said tenancy document.
Your friend may be able to ask for this to be changed, but the time to seek advice about the implications of this tenancy would have been BEFORE any signing was done ... may be a tad late now.
Did your Law training not teach you to not sign anything, particularly a legally binding document, that you do not understand?
As for "biased" LLs on LLz, you asked for advice and received it. You sound like the "biased" one with your comments about the apparent nationality of the agents you dealt with - did your law training not cover the implications of apparently racist comments?
If you are intending to make a career out of law, you must try to avoid making comments which you feel are innocent and harmless (I see replies here and LLz both thought the same about this unnecessary addition to your post), which others may be greatly offended by, and you must read and understand everything you are ever asked to sign - or seek further advice before signing it.0 -
Did you Law training not teach you to not sign anything, particularly a legally binding document, that you do not understand?
No need for being smarmy, everybody makes mistakes. I am not a qualified lawyer and am not taking up a job in law. I took a law degree which believe it or not has a lot of different subjects where you do not simply 'learn the law' you also go into deep academic arguments.
Is it really a big deal? The previous tenants had the same arrangement apparently. So I could get my friend to ask the letting agent to change the contract?0
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