Apartment renting hell

ihatemyhouse

I thought if 2 people signed a tenancy agreement and 1 left the other was liable for the full rent,, like if a couple split up

G_M

ihatemyhouse wrote: »

I thought if 2 people signed a tenancy agreement and 1 left the other was liable for the full rent,, like if a couple split up

You've quoted this erroneous advice before,but don't seem to read back your old posts so never see the corrections.

Or maybe just choose to ignore them.

ihatemyhouse

so if me and my misses split up, I only have to pay half the rent or all of it

G_M

esj13 wrote: »

Yes we both signed one agreement.
you are each equally responsible for the full rent, for the full 12 months, whether you both stay or not.

We have complained about the shower and other issues including a light that blew up and a light switch that ocassionally gives you a shock.
How? See my post 6 above.

It is a newish building on the top floor.
So probobly losing heat through the attic/roof. As advised, check insulation
It is double glazed but the heating is insufficient. Each room except the bathroom (no heating at all there not even a towel heater) has a single wall mounted convection heater which gives off a horrible dry heat that makes you sweat like mad
Heat is heat, and whether from a gas fire, traditional ch radiator, oil-filled rad, night-storage or convector it is not 'dry' or 'wet'! It is the humidity in the flat that affects the dryness in the air, whatever the temperature.

If you are sweating, you cannot complain the heater is not giving off enough heat!
and only keeps the room warm as long as it's on, which isnt going to be kind on the electricity bill.
The issue is not the heat source (which makes you sweat!), it is heat-retention ie insulation(or lack of)
I amd working on a very long winded letter to the letting agents right now.

If you consider the letter long winded, the recipient will be in despair!

Use short bullet points. Don't ramble or repeat yourself. Keep the sentences, and the letter, short.

G_M

ihatemyhouse wrote: »

so if me and my misses split up, I only have to pay half the rent or all of it

Good grief! How many times?

You read/respond to many posts so I'm not going to repeat myself. Again.

ihatemyhouse

G_M wrote: »

Good grief! How many times?

You read/respond to many posts so I'm not going to repeat myself. Again.

its not that hard of a question, you are either responsible or not

2 people sign a form, 1 leaves, this either leave the 1 who stays in the house, there are then either

a) completely responsibly for the whole rent

b) only responsibly for there share of the rent

if it is b, what happens if the other person doesn't pay there half, is the person who is left in the house responsibly for it

if it is then a is the answer, as if one doesn't pay then the other has to

JuicyJesus

ihatemyhouse wrote: »

its not that hard of a question, you are either responsible or not

2 people sign a form, 1 leaves, this either leave the 1 who stays in the house, there are then either

a) completely responsibly for the whole rent

b) only responsibly for there share of the rent

if it is b, what happens if the other person doesn't pay there half, is the person who is left in the house responsibly for it

if it is then a is the answer, as if one doesn't pay then the other has to

Seeing as G_M is bowing out:

Whether they leave (are physically residing at) the property or not, if both names are on the tenancy agreement then they are jointly and severally liable for ALL the rent. It isn't 50/50, or 100% divided by however many people are on the tenancy, so your talk of "halves" is completely irrelevant; each party is liable legally for the whole rent in conjunction with each other. Who pays it is irrelevant, but if the rent is unpaid in full or in part then BOTH tenants are liable for the shortfall and can be taken to court to recover it individually even if one of them is paying what they deem to be their "half", because no such concept exists.

In short, if someone is on the tenancy then regardless of whether they live at the house or not they are responsible for the payment of rent.

The same principle applies to joint loans and overdrafts on joint bank accounts.

dancingfairy

Well technically they are both liable. The landlord can go after one or both of them. The one remaining in the house may be an easier target though. The landlord is well within his or her rights to take either or both of them to court if rent is not paid.
Is your housemate happy there? If you want to use a break clause I believe both parties have to be in agreement. After the initial fixed term contract though I believe either party can give notice. Does your housemate want to stay but would be happy to have another housemate? would you be happy if you could enforce the repairs and get a new housemate? If you chat to your housemate you may be able to find a new housemate/combination and present this to the landlord and see if they are amenable.
df

Kynthia

ihatemyhouse wrote: »

so if me and my misses split up, I only have to pay half the rent or all of it

You would have signed a legal agreement to pay rent, why would you think you could walk away from that? Everyone on the contract is responsible for the whole rent. The landlord doesn't care who pays and what share they each pay or don't pay. If the landlord doesn't get the rent they can take any or all of the tenants named on the contract to court. If they only take one and win, that person then may chose to take the other joint tenant to court to pay for their share based on the joint contract, even if they aren't living there, and then a judge would decide whether they owed it.

RobertoMoir

ihatemyhouse wrote: »

its not that hard of a question, you are either responsible or not

It's not that difficult of a question, it's not a difficult answer either and in fact it has been answered several times. At least once in this thread and countless times on this forum beforehand.

I've noticed before on at least one other thread where you were asking for help that you seem pathologically unable to pay attention to anything people say unless it agrees with what you already think is the right solution. I have sympathy for some of what you've gone through yourself, but please don't bring that approach with you if you're going to try and help others with their problems.