Tenancy contract help

greyville

My girlfriend and I moved into a house in August 2012. We initially signed a year contract with a letting agent.

We each signed separate contracts, though it was a joint tenancy agreement.

When they expired, we asked to renew the contracts until June 2015.

Significantly, I signed this contract but my girlfriend didn't, though she has continued living there.

I have several questions, which I hope someone will answer.

First, if I move out now and she stays, am I liable for the rent up until next June?

Second, if she moved out now and I stayed, would she be liable to pay the rent up until next June (given the fact that she has never signed a contract to this effect?)

Third, if we assume the answer to the second question is 'yes', would I be liable for her unpaid rent?

I ask because, when we moved in, I vaguely remember the letting agent said that, if, for any reason, one of us stopped paying rent, the other would be liable.

Since we moved in, the payment has come as one joint payment paid by monthly direct debit from my account.

Fourth, if we both moved out, would we be liable to pay the rent up until next June?

princeofpounds

The below assumes the contract contains joint and several provisions, which it is highly likely to do:

First, if I move out now and she stays, am I liable for the rent up until next June?

yes

Second, if she moved out now and I stayed, would she be liable to pay the rent up until next June (given the fact that she has never signed a contract to this effect?)

Probably not. She does not pay rent to the LL and did not sign the contract.

The signature is not the only thing that matters by the way, as courts will look at actions as an evidence to contract as well. She presumably pays a share of the rent to you on a regular basis, so the two of you probably have an implied contract between you.

The exact nature of that contract is a little trickier to ascertain - particularly any implied length - but she is likely to be a lodger.

Third, if we assume the answer to the second question is 'yes', would I be liable for her unpaid rent?

Yes.

I ask because, when we moved in, I vaguely remember the letting agent said that, if, for any reason, one of us stopped paying rent, the other would be liable.

If the contract is joint and several, this is normally the case. But it only applies to parties to the contract.

Fourth, if we both moved out, would we be liable to pay the rent up until next June?

You would be. She would not be liable to the LL. She may be liable to you but in the absence of a written agreement she is probably able to terminate that liability more or less at will.

It would help if you actually said what you were worried about rather than playin with scenarios. Are you worried she is going to skip out on you?

greyville

Thanks for your answers. I expected that.

Put simply, the relationship has ended on bad terms. One of us needs to leave.

It seems that, if it's me, I would continue paying my half and, if it's her, she would legally be able to pay nothing.

princeofpounds

Sorry to hear about your relationship, though it might be something like that.

Unless you have evidence that she agreed to be with you for the full term of the new contract, then she probably can leave rather promptly with no come-back.

If you leave, you are not responsible for half the rent, you are responsible for the full rent to the LL. But you have grounds for continuing to receive half the rent from her.

Personally, if I had the tenancy, I would not want to leave her alone with occupation of the property. You are still responsible to the LL for its condition and you will find it hard to remove her promptly without being resident. So taking the extra cost on the nose (or finding a lodger if it is 2 bed) is probably a better scenario.

Pixie5740

There isn't 'your half' and 'her half'. If you're the one with the contract with the LL then as far as the LL is concerned you are the one who owes the whole amount of rent. If you move out and she decides not to pay any rent then it's you the LL would come after and you would essentially be subletting the property to her. It's not a situation I would put myself in, if one of you has to leave then it would be more sensible if she was the one to go.

Alternatively you could explain your predicament to your LL and see if he will agree to terminating the tenancy agreement early. You would probably face fees for re-advertising and finding new tenants and have to pay rent up to the time when new tenants would be moving in but that might be a cheaper option than paying the rent on your own until June 2015.

How big is the property? Could you get a lodger to help cover some of the rent and bills if the LL doesn't agree to end the tenancy early?

greyville

You are, of course, correct.

I was saying that based on the assumption that she will continue paying her half of the rent. I have no reason to believe she would be that unreasonable.

Likewise, I do not think she is going to destroy the place.

As a side point, when we moved in, we contributed equally to the deposit and bond.

Pixie5740

You know what they say about assumptions....

If you move out you will be subletting the property (if the tenancy is deemed to be in your name only) to her which is likely to be prohibited in your tenancy agreement, you'd have to check. What if come June, she doesn't want to move out, how would you deal with that situation?

greyville

Again, my assumption is that, because the contract ends in June 2015, I could then stop payments without any comeback.

Are you saying that, if she refused to leave, I would be liable because I'd technically be her landlord?

I don't think that will become an issue, but I appreciate you warning me.

Pixie5740

When your tenancy ends then the subtenants tenancy also ends. Whether your LL would accept starting a new tenancy her come June 2015 or not who knows...?

If he didn't and she didn't want to leave then there would be the expense of going to court. Who pays for that?

If you decide to leave the property everything might work out, on the other hand it has the potential to get very messy and bite you on the backside.

greyville

Pixie5740 wrote: »

When your tenancy ends then the subtenants tenancy also ends. Whether your LL would accept starting a new tenancy her come June 2015 or not who knows...?

If he didn't and she didn't want to leave then there would be the expense of going to court. Who pays for that?

If you decide to leave the property everything might work out, on the other hand it has the potential to get very messy and bite you on the backside.

All that is very useful, thank you - and to princessofpounds too.

It is a bad situation: She would argue that she needs to be in the property more than me as her uni is nearby, whereas my office isn't.

But though I think now that she will keep paying her rent to me and will move out in June, I also remember being completely sure that, when we first moved in and the letting agents said 'if one of you moves out, you'll be liable for the full amount', I felt completely sure then that it it'd never come up.

You live and learn.

RAS

greyville wrote: »

Again, my assumption is that, because the contract ends in June 2015, I could then stop payments without any comeback.

If she refuses to leave you remain liable for the whole rent until such time as she leaves and

1. You have given the proper notice required for a periodic tenancy.

2. That notice has expired and you have provided vacant possesion.

Given the situations with signatures and the relationship breakdown the only way to protect yourself legally is for her to move out and you to leave next June.

Any chance you could get a lodger? or could you both cope wth livng there?