Have we got ourselves in a mess already? Two bed flatshare - one name on contract

zzzLazyDaisy

ValHaller wrote: »

illegal? criminal? people up in court and jailed for giving a tenancy to one person when 2 people are scheduled move in? you jailed for being an illegal tenant?

Go back to your institute of learning and ask for your money back

Well thank you very much :mad:

I just spat coffee all over my laptop

Werdnal

The British court system is busy enough without having daily cases of "illegal lodgers" brought before them ...

englishrose19

A) leave the poor girl? Alone! I've just achieved a first in journalism but that doesn't mean I know everything about media law, having studied it extensively.

I have the same arrangement with my boyfriend, as a graduate I wasn't in a great position so he is the tenant and I am a legal occupier. That's fine for us because we are a long term couple and we share money. There's nothing wrong about it as long as you trust your friend and more importantly, she trusts you!

Slinky

Of course there could be the situation where the OP pays rent to the official tenant, the tenant doesn't pay the rent to the landlord, and they both get evicted due to non-payment of rent.....

t0rt0ise

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

Under the rent-a-room scheme a lodger can pay up to £4250, which is tax free and does not have to be declared.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/pimmanual/pim4001.htm

Whether that is enough to cover half the rent will depend on whereabouts in the country the accommodation is located.

The rent is £1200, the OP has already told us, hence my concern. I expect in reality they will simply not declare it but as the OP is concerned about the legality of it I thought I'd mention it. They should at least tell the friend who is the tenant the position she will be in.

helpmeimagraduate

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

No but bearing in mind that property law is a compulsory subject in a law degree (as is contract law and criminal law) OP really should know the difference between 'tenant', 'sub-tenant', and 'lodger', and the essentials of basic contract law.

Oh for christ's sake get over yourself. What exactly is your problem with me? YES, WE DO PROPERTY LAW DURING A LAW DEGREE. GET OVER IT. Believe it or not but a law degree is not the Legal Practice Course, it's an academic degree. A law degree is not 'training you up' for practice in any sense and you most certainly do not learn about the minutiae of different tenancy agreements. A property law module will take you through such pleasures as our registered and unregistered land systems, leasehold and freehold covenants, easements, leases and academic study of the conenction between human rights and land law. You will also have to answer essay questions on controversial areas of law. I'm having trouble believing that you actually studied law at undergraduate level because you seem very disconnected from what a law degree entails. And I KNOW the difference between a tenant and a subtenant - I'm not an idiot. I NEVER said I didn't know the difference, I said I wasn't sure whether I was a lodger or a subtenant. Again - I am not a qualified lawyer, a law degree is not a vocational qualification (it's much like any other social science degree) I haven't even done the LPC and I think you're being really harsh to be honest and need to get off your high horse.

P.S. I got a first in both land and contract law and a high 2:1 overall in my degree from Bristol.

helpmeimagraduate

ValHaller wrote: »

illegal? criminal? people up in court and jailed for giving a tenancy to one person when 2 people are scheduled move in? you jailed for being an illegal tenant?

Go back to your institute of learning and ask for your money back

Thanks, I just went to my graduation ceremony today and that's put a bit of a downer on everything. Lovely aren't you?

helpmeimagraduate

englishrose19 wrote: »

A) leave the poor girl? Alone! I've just achieved a first in journalism but that doesn't mean I know everything about media law, having studied it extensively.

I have the same arrangement with my boyfriend, as a graduate I wasn't in a great position so he is the tenant and I am a legal occupier. That's fine for us because we are a long term couple and we share money. There's nothing wrong about it as long as you trust your friend and more importantly, she trusts you!

Thank you for this, much appreciated! Obviously a lot fo jealous lawyers on here wishing they were 21 again.. oh well.

helpmeimagraduate

Supadupa wrote: »

I'm in Scotland so the law may be slightly different but....

in my lease agreement my husband is the lead tenant and I am named on the lease as a 'Permitted Occupant.'

In our previous tenancy agreement we were both named as joint tenants.

I may be cynical but I think the reason is that when we signed the first agreement, the agency were allowed to charge us referencing fees and were therefore insistent we were joint tenants so they could charge us both the referencing fee. When we moved the law had changed and they were no longer allowed to charge referencing fees so suddenly only one of us should be referenced and the other should be a 'Permitted Occupant' - less work for them and since they are not getting paid for it this time there's no incentive for extra referencing.

So to answer your question I don't believe there's anything dodgy in it. It may be the case that you don't have tenancy rights but at the same time you are not legally bound to pay the rent so if your friend defaults on payments then you may be evicted with your friend but they won't be chasing you for the unpaid rent.

Hope that helps.

Thank you for this reply, that makes me less nervous!

princeofpounds

The responses on this thread depress me. The OP asked some pretty genuine questions and frankly has shown admirable perseverance to stick around with open ears. They might have some attitude issues around 'foreign' LA staff but otherwise deserve better treatment as new joiners on the board.

Anyone with half a brain knows that a law degree does not teach you the practical details of rental law any more than an engineering degree teaches you to service a ford fiesta engine.

And frankly even if it did, that's still no great reason to be rude. The purpose of the board should be to help people with real world worries about their housing situation, not pick holes for fun.