Advice: arrears joint tenancy

Bmills901

Hi all

hoping for some advice here, I recently joined a joint tenancy agreement with two other people.

They had been living in the property for roughly 6 months and I took over the spot of their friend.

It has just come to light that the property was already over £3,000 in rent arrears when I joined I.e they had not been paying full rent 

the landlord did not make me aware of this when I was joining / going through the paperwork.

can this be considered a breach of contract ?

If I had known this; there would have been no chance I would join a tenancy where the current tenants couldn't afford the rent 

thanks !

saajan_12

Bmills901 said:

Hi all

hoping for some advice here, I recently joined a joint tenancy agreement with two other people.

They had been living in the property for roughly 6 months and I took over the spot of their friend.

It has just come to light that the property was already over £3,000 in rent arrears when I joined I.e they had not been paying full rent 

the landlord did not make me aware of this when I was joining / going through the paperwork.

can this be considered a breach of contract ?

If I had known this; there would have been no chance I would join a tenancy where the current tenants couldn't afford the rent 

thanks !

How exactly did you join the tenancy - did you sign a 'deed of variation' or sign a new lease? 

Also what is the relevance of the arrears to you - are they claiming the arrears (partly) from you, or are you just inferring the co-tenants' ability to pay their shares going forward?

Bmills901

It was a dead of transfer.

They are claiming I am also responsible for these arrears and I am worried I am now stuck with two joint tenants who can't afford to live in this property

theartfullodger

'phone Shelter 0808 800 4444 , free, and discuss with the experts in these matters.  Don't pay until you are sure you have to 

Was this "Deed of transfer" witnessed and were you give a copy of it, and tenancy agreement, prior to signing & advised to get legal advice?

Good luck.

canaldumidi

Bmills901 said:

It was a dead of transfer.

The previous tenant died???

I assume you mean a 'Deed of Transfer'

For proper advice you will need to quote here the precise wording of the Deed. That will determine whether you are legally liable for the arrears built up prior to your occupation.

Who signed the deed? (please identify all signitories - no, not by name!)

Plus I'm dubious a Deed of Transfer was appropriate.That is typically used to transfer ownership of property.

The landlord should have used a Deed of Assignment.

Deed of assignment

saajan_12

Bmills901 said:

It was a dead of transfer.

They are claiming I am also responsible for these arrears and I am worried I am now stuck with two joint tenants who can't afford to live in this property

To start with some basic checks on the deed - can you quote (including the heading, terms, who signed, who witnessed etc)

If its valid and works so that you step into the shoes of a tenant, then its up to you to research the contract you're entering, including the below - the LL has no particular responsibility to you beyond treating you as a tenant after you sign. 
* deposit amount
* rent obligation
* utilities / council tax obligations
* existing damage
* existing rent arrears
* who you're contracting jointly & severally with

TripleH

Did you ask if there were any arrears when you looked round / offered?

If so was this verbally or in writing?

canaldumidi

OP was online at 1.52 today but has chosen to ignore the replies & questions posed.......