Moving out / sub-letting query

investme

Just looking for a bit of advice on behalf of my girlfriend, fortunately i've only had to deal with renting while at uni and never really had any issues so i'm not too clued up on the law on rentals.

Anyway, the situation is this. My girlfriend moved out of a shared rental (with 2 others) at the end of March. She is the lead tenant and cannot give notice until June (2 months) so would otherwise need to continue paying rent and being the lead tenant until then. She had found someone the other two tenants know who wanted to move in and take over the tenancy starting 1st of May - all the paperwork was meant to be done months ago. The guy still hasn't done it, and is being very awkward and unhelpful about doing so. There's only a few days left for him to get the referencing done in time.

My girlfriend and the new tenant agreed between them (and the letting agent) that she would pay the April rent and the new tenant would move in and take over from the 1st of May.

She is completely frustrated and has given up. We now live together and are meant to be splitting bills / saving for a new house we've just reserved.

she has tried to serve notice as the lead tenant, however at the earliest this wouldn't be until August as mentioned above anyway. We both knew the risks of her moving out and that she may have to pay rent until August should the arrangement fall through, however we are concerned that the two current tenants are going to let the new guy move in regardless of paperwork etc. and sub-let the room to him. The entire process he has not wanted to go through referencing / pay the deposit / do anything helpful and has constantly refused to do so - my girlfriend rejected every suggestion.

My question really, is what are her rights if this does happen?
The letting agent and landlord (who luckily is lovely and helpful) are aware she has moved out and whilst legally she is the lead tenant, she is no longer present. What can she do if they do sub-let her room? Would this be sufficient to break the contract and for the landlord to serve eviction?

Any help appreciated

Cakeguts

How many people signed the tenancy. Was it just your girlfriend or were there other names on there at the same time? Or does everyone have their own seperate agreements with just their names on them?

A tenancy agreement is a legal document so you can't just take one name off and insert a different one.

investme

She is the lead tenant and all of them are on the tenancy. Once the new chap has sorted the referencing they were going to sign a new agreement

Cakeguts

So this is nothing to do with subletting then is it because a new agreement would mean a whole new joint tenancy with the new person being one of the tenants.

Who is this new chap who is sorting the referencing. The only person who can grant a new tenancy is the landlord. He is the one or his letting agent who will do all the referencing and right to rent checks on the new tenant. Is it possible that the new tenant has failed some of the checks?

HampshireH

Has she asked the 'LL about locking the room up in her and any other official tenants absence?

Mot the most conventional way but also not unheard of either.

Alternatively she could leave all her stuff in there and frequently return to check at various days/times of day.

Why doesn't she trust her former hosuemates? What benefit will they have of moving this person in who sounds wholly unreliable if she is still paying her rent and bills?

G_M

Is this England?

investme wrote: »

....My girlfriend moved out of a shared rental (with 2 others) at the end of March.
Are all 3 named as tenants on the tenancy agreement?

She is the lead tenant and cannot give notice until June (2 months)
No idea what this means:
* the fixed term ends in August (2 months after June)? If so, NO notice is needed at te end of the fixed term.
* it's a periodic (mothly) tenancy? In that case notice can e served at any time - no need to wait till June

so would otherwise need to continue paying rent and being the lead tenant until then.
Until the tenancy is formally ended, she remains a tenant!

She had found someone the other two tenants know who wanted to move in and take over the tenancy starting 1st of May
I assume the landlord has agreed? If not, this is a non-starter.

What does 'take over the tenancy' mean?
* end the tenancy witth the landlord and a new one replace it? Has the LL agreed?
* your girlfriend's name is 'assigned' to the new person on the existing tenancy? Has the LL agreed?

- all the paperwork was meant to be done months ago.
Either the LL has accepted surrender of the existing tenancy and created a new tenancy, or he has not. Which?
Alternatively either the LL has assigned the new name or he has not. Which?

The guy still hasn't done it, and is being very awkward and unhelpful about doing so.
The 'guy'? New tenant? Landlord?
There's only a few days left for him to get the referencing done in time.
In time for what?

My girlfriend and the new tenant agreed between them (and the letting agent) that she would pay the April rent and the new tenant would move in and take over from the 1st of May.
Ah. OK. Still not clear if tthis is an assignmentt r a new tenancy, but either way, if its not done by dae of next rent payment date, girlfriend will still be liable.

She is completely frustrated and has given up.
OK. so she'll remain a tenant, liable for rent, damage etc.

We now live together and are meant to be splitting bills / saving for a new house we've just reserved.
So if she's paying for 2 places she'll be out of pocket.

she has tried to serve notice as the lead tenant, however at the earliest this wouldn't be until August as mentioned above anyway.
As above, the tenancy type is unclear so we cannot comment on the validity of her notice.

We both knew the risks of her moving out and that she may have to pay rent until August should the arrangement fall through,
Her choice
however we are concerned that the two current tenants are going to let the new guy move in regardless of paperwork etc. and sub-let the room to him.
Not much she can do about that. Maybe inform the LL/agent about this lodger, but then not much the LL can do other than serve a S21 Notice and end the tenancy.

Will he want to do that?

The entire process he has not wanted to go through referencing / pay the deposit / do anything helpful and has constantly refused to do so - my girlfriend rejected every suggestion.
What suggestions is your gf rejecting?

My question really, is what are her rights if this does happen?
her rights are to return to the property she is renting!!

The letting agent and landlord (who luckily is lovely and helpful) are aware she has moved out and whilst legally she is the lead tenant, she is no longer present.
Her abbsence is legaly irrelevant

What can she do if they do sub-let her room?
Move back in and evict him. Better still, move back in and revent him from moving in until the formalities are complete.

Would this be sufficient to break the contract and for the landlord to serve eviction?
I doubt this breach of tenancy woul be sufficient for a court to decide to end the tenancy based on a S8 Notice.

A S21 Notice, of course, needs no reason, but takes longer andd cannnot be done till any fixed term has ended - you need to explain the tenancy.

Take a few belongings and move back in temporarily.

This 'guy' has demonstrated he is touble even before he moves in. So remaining a tenant, witth him in occupaation, is madnesss.

investme

Thanks for the responses so far. I've answered inline. Apologies the post isn't that clear, maybe too much context and not factual enough. Anyway...

....My girlfriend moved out of a shared rental (with 2 others) at the end of March.
Are all 3 named as tenants on the tenancy agreement?

Yes as far as i know, they all signed together and she is the lead tenant.

She is the lead tenant and cannot give notice until June (2 months)
No idea what this means:
* the fixed term ends in August (2 months after June)? If so, NO notice is needed at te end of the fixed term.
* it's a periodic (mothly) tenancy? In that case notice can e served at any time - no need to wait till June

so would otherwise need to continue paying rent and being the lead tenant until then.
Until the tenancy is formally ended, she remains a tenant!

The tenancy ends in August but the landlord was happy for them to continue the tenancy and either re-sign for next year or keep it rolling (i'm unsure which), the two other tenants wanted to do this. So yes it's not so much a 'notice' but just informing the landlord what they wish to do as the tenancy is due to end.

She had found someone the other two tenants know who wanted to move in and take over the tenancy starting 1st of May
I assume the landlord has agreed? If not, this is a non-starter.

Yes landlord aware and happy with this

What does 'take over the tenancy' mean?
* end the tenancy witth the landlord and a new one replace it? Has the LL agreed?
* your girlfriend's name is 'assigned' to the new person on the existing tenancy? Has the LL agreed?

The latter, they would re-sign for the remainder of the already existing contract.

- all the paperwork was meant to be done months ago.
Either the LL has accepted surrender of the existing tenancy and created a new tenancy, or he has not. Which?
Alternatively either the LL has assigned the new name or he has not. Which?

Sorry, this was misleading. The LL is fine with it, by paperwork i meant the new tenant replacing my girlfriend - he needed to fill in the relevant referencing forms and pay the referencing fee.

The guy still hasn't done it, and is being very awkward and unhelpful about doing so.
The 'guy'? New tenant? Landlord?
There's only a few days left for him to get the referencing done in time.
In time for what?

The new tenant. He was due to move in on the 1st of May. The letting agents have said they need a minimum of 3 working days for referencing + time for all 3 of them to come in and sign.

My girlfriend and the new tenant agreed between them (and the letting agent) that she would pay the April rent and the new tenant would move in and take over from the 1st of May.
Ah. OK. Still not clear if tthis is an assignmentt r a new tenancy, but either way, if its not done by dae of next rent payment date, girlfriend will still be liable.

Aware of this, frustratingly!

She is completely frustrated and has given up.
OK. so she'll remain a tenant, liable for rent, damage etc.

Correct. This is where the sub-letting issue comes in. We wouldn't be surprised if he's already moved in. She does have keys for us to go and check, however she has moved across the country and left a job, so we can't easily just pop in and check.

We now live together and are meant to be splitting bills / saving for a new house we've just reserved.
So if she's paying for 2 places she'll be out of pocket.

Correct, we knew the risks of this of course but just expressing the frustration!

she has tried to serve notice as the lead tenant, however at the earliest this wouldn't be until August as mentioned above anyway.
As above, the tenancy type is unclear so we cannot comment on the validity of her notice.

Hopefully clarified above now

We both knew the risks of her moving out and that she may have to pay rent until August should the arrangement fall through,
Her choice

Agreed, we both agreed. i am covering our shared bills for now. Not an issue, just frustrating.

however we are concerned that the two current tenants are going to let the new guy move in regardless of paperwork etc. and sub-let the room to him.
Not much she can do about that. Maybe inform the LL/agent about this lodger, but then not much the LL can do other than serve a S21 Notice and end the tenancy.

What would this mean for her? Is this a 'bad' (excuse the poor choice of word) thing to happen to someone? Would it impact her credit report at all?

Will he want to do that?


Not sure, she is going to speak to the landlord and explain the situation and see what, if anything, she will do. She has genuinely been very amicable with move in dates, tweaks to the contract initially among other things so far. So we shall see. Not expecting anything however.

The entire process he has not wanted to go through referencing / pay the deposit / do anything helpful and has constantly refused to do so - my girlfriend rejected every suggestion.
What suggestions is your gf rejecting?

The new tenant didn't want to move in 'properly' - he wanted my girlfriend to sub-let to him to avoid going through referencing or having to pay a deposit. She said no.

My question really, is what are her rights if this does happen?
her rights are to return to the property she is renting!!

Of course!

The letting agent and landlord (who luckily is lovely and helpful) are aware she has moved out and whilst legally she is the lead tenant, she is no longer present.
Her abbsence is legaly irrelevant

Very true

What can she do if they do sub-let her room?
Move back in and evict him. Better still, move back in and revent him from moving in until the formalities are complete.


As said, across the country so this isn't ideal. Else we'd be in and out repeatedly to check. If need be we will drive back one weekend

Would this be sufficient to break the contract and for the landlord to serve eviction?
I doubt this breach of tenancy woul be sufficient for a court to decide to end the tenancy based on a S8 Notice.

A S21 Notice, of course, needs no reason, but takes longer andd cannnot be done till any fixed term has ended - you need to explain the tenancy.


i don't know anything about the notices, but will take a look

investme

HampshireH wrote: »

Has she asked the 'LL about locking the room up in her and any other official tenants absence?

Mot the most conventional way but also not unheard of either.

Alternatively she could leave all her stuff in there and frequently return to check at various days/times of day.

Why doesn't she trust her former hosuemates? What benefit will they have of moving this person in who sounds wholly unreliable if she is still paying her rent and bills?

She hasn't enquired about the lock, but that's not the worst idea.

As for returning, the house is 3 hours or so drive from where we live now, so we can't easily just pop back and check. Of course if need be, we will one weekend.

The trust issue - One of the other housemates and my girlfriend (and me) fell out a while back. To put it bluntly he's tight, cowardly and generally just a bit of an idiot. It's his best mate moving in, so he doesn't really care as long as bills and rent get paid and his mate is around.

G_M

So clearly

1) the 'guy' does not want to be a joint tenant, has no intention of applying, and cannot be trusted.

2) your gf is going to remain a jint tenant through April (and possibly beyond)

3) as the 'guy' is a friend of one joint-tenant, who is himself untrustworthy, it seems inevitable that the guy will move in, as a lodger

4) The biggest risk is that when the fixed term ends in August, her 2 joint tenants remain meaning the existing tenancy, with her name still on it, will become periodic (rolling) and conttinue.

5) one course of action is to return, take up residence even if temorarily, and prevent the guy moving in (or evict him).

6) another option is to pursuade the landlord to take acton - though as explained, his options are limited. Provided the rent continues to be paid there is little he can do till August (other than serve a S21 in June).

investme

G_M wrote: »

So clearly

1) the 'guy' does not want to be a joint tenant, has no intention of applying, and cannot be trusted.

2) your gf is going to remain a jint tenant through April (and possibly beyond)

3) as the 'guy' is a friend of one joint-tenant, who is himself untrustworthy, it seems inevitable that the guy will move in, as a lodger

4) The biggest risk is that when the fixed term ends in August, her 2 joint tenants remain meaning the existing tenancy, with her name still on it, will become periodic (rolling) and conttinue.

5) one course of action is to return, take up residence even if temorarily, and prevent the guy moving in (or evict him).

6) another option is to pursuade the landlord to take acton - though as explained, his options are limited. Provided the rent continues to be paid there is little he can do till August (other than serve a S21 in June).

Thanks for clarifying. Pretty much as we expected, except point 1. The new tenant has been adamant (after finally accepting my girlfriend wouldn't sub-let the room) that he is going to do it and for her to stop worrying - obviously his behaviour and attitude says otherwise. We shall see, today is pretty much the last day he can do anything.

Anyway thank you for the advice. If the new tenant doesn't sort things today i suspect the best bet will be to discuss with the landlord. My girlfriends main concern, as you have pointed out, is basically being held to ransom on the tenancy if it does end up a rolling agreement.

G_M

investme wrote: »

.My girlfriends main concern, as you have pointed out, is basically being held to ransom on the tenancy if it does end up a rolling agreement.

Once the tenancy is periodic, any one of the joint tenants can serve notice to end the tenancy (for all of them).