Joint tenanxy

macman

Bailiffs don't just 'turn up'. A CCJ has to be applied for and served at the last known address.
Once the ex moves out, a new TA will have to be in place, unless the OP decides to move out also. 
As pointed out above, the surrender of a joint tenancy by one party ends it for the other party also, so this situation simply cannot occur.

freesha

And how do you know how long this has been going on? Might not just be bailiffs - could be field agents, debt collectors, neither of which need a CCJ. Yes they don't have as many powers, but still scary for someone to have them turn up. That was my point.

macman

Nothing has been 'going on'. The OP simply said 'if they turn up in case of debt'. There's no indication that the ex has left a trail of debt and, if anyone calls wanting money, the OP simply shows them their TA with their sole name on it. And they will depart.
Field agents and debt collectors don't have any powers at all.

saajan_12

macman said:

Bailiffs don't just 'turn up'. A CCJ has to be applied for and served at the last known address.
Once the ex moves out, a new TA will have to be in place, unless the OP decides to move out also. 
As pointed out above, the surrender of a joint tenancy by one party ends it for the other party also, so this situation simply cannot occur.

A new TA doesn't 'have to' be anything, the ex could just move out, no one tell the LL. The tenancy would continue with both having the right to live there and the obligation to pay rent, even if in practice OP is the one that physically pays it. This situation absolutely can occur. 

propertyrental

saajan_12 said:

macman said:

Bailiffs don't just 'turn up'. A CCJ has to be applied for and served at the last known address.
Once the ex moves out, a new TA will have to be in place, unless the OP decides to move out also. 
As pointed out above, the surrender of a joint tenancy by one party ends it for the other party also, so this situation simply cannot occur.

A new TA doesn't 'have to' be anything, the ex could just move out, no one tell the LL. The tenancy would continue with both having the right to live there and the obligation to pay rent, even if in practice OP is the one that physically pays it. This situation absolutely can occur. 

Absolutely right. Though not a recommended solution!

macman

But if one party to the tenancy physically moves out, surely the joint tenancy is surrendered, and the other party has no right to remain? Yes, they could remain in occupation, with or without the LL knowing the circumstances, but they would no longer have a valid tenancy in law?

propertyrental

macman said:

But if one party to the tenancy physically moves out, surely the joint tenancy is surrendered, and the other party has no right to remain? Yes, they could remain in occupation, with or without the LL knowing the circumstances, but they would no longer have a valid tenancy in law?

No. And no.
Physically moving out does not end a tenancy. If it did the whole concept of giving notice to end a tenancy would be legally meaningless, and tenants would simply leave whenever it suited them and the tenancy would be considered 'surrendered'.

A tenancy is surrendered if and only if a number of criteria are satisfied. Physical occupancy is not one of those criteria.

A valid tenancy in law, and the obligations to pay rent/provide services, bind all parties (joint tenant as well as landlords) until a tenancy is formally ended, be that by a court, mutual consent, or proper notice by the tenant(s).

nrmm

Thank you all so much for your views, comments, suggestions. I was away as lots have happened in the meantime and I’m still a little bit on what to do / what’s the next logical steps.

- I terminated our relationship last Thursday
- same day he attempted suicide, I called police and emergency services and they took him to hospital. He’s stable, being treated and waiting for an evaluation from the psychiatrists 
- there’s currently no debt from any of us. I pay all services, council, utilities and rent from my own account every month. 
- I’ve shared all this information with the landlord and said on email the following “ He’s very spaced out due to the amount of medication he took. He’s being aggressive and threatening on the phone. His daughter is leaving on Sunday and we really don’t know/can’t predict what’s going to happen. Ultimately, my last resort is calling 999 as I fear for my safety.

I wanted to ask if you there’s a way to accelerate the Deed of Assignment so that I feel more covered and can restrict his entry to the property, only allowing under supervision and to collect his belongings.”

I wonder if I can send an email through my former partner’s email account (to which I have access to) to the landlord saying that I “partner” transfer all liability to me, if it makes sense?! What’s the quickest, easiest thing to do so that as soon as he’s discharged he doesn’t have access to the property, I’m safe and can just call 999 if he tries to force entry

- I removed myself as next of kin from his employer and hospital. His daughter is now his next of kin although she lives abroad

- I got all his keys to the property through his daughter

- I’ll send an email through his email account informing the council saying that I (he) do no longer live at the address

 By the way, we’ve been together for 20 years now but we’re not married nor in a civil partnership. 

anything else? Anything wrong with any of this next steps ? Thank you all so much. This is totally new to me 

propertyrental

1) Executing a Deed of Assignment, assigning his rights and obligations from him to you, would require the consent and signatures of both joint tenants and landlord.

2) it sounds like he may not currently have 'mentally capacity', in legal terms at present, which may prohibit him from signing such a document - wait for psychiatric report?

3) using his email to attempt to provide consent from him to the LL for a change to the tenancy would be fraud - a criminal offence.

4) Your first step must be to get the LL's view: is the LL willing to accept you as a sole tenant, be that via a Deed of Assignment, or surrender of the current joint tenancy and replacement with a new tenancy in your sole name. This may depend on the LL's opinion of you and your salary and reliability.

5) Assuming the LL agrees, then, and only then, you can look at how to achieve this.

6) I can't recall if you've confirmed the current tenancy: is it in a fixed term, or periodic?

A periodic tenancy can be ended by either of the joint tenants serving notice. So you could serve notice to end the tenancy (providing the correct notice period eg 1 month/tenancy period?) and this would bind your joint tenant too.

A fixed term tenancy can be ended on the last date of the fixed term by all joint tenants vacating. No notice needed. Or by an 'early surrender', which requires consent of all joint tenants and Landlord. Or a Break Clause, if any, but this also requires both joint tenants' consents.

7) So your options are either
a) proper notice to end the tenancy, which takes time, or
b) Early Surrender/Deed Assignment etc, which requires your ex's consent (as well as the LL's)

8) Finally as a last resort, there's the option of getting the ex banned from entering the property. I'm no expert in this area but if he's been violent, the police could (I believe) prosecute and a magistrate could apply an ASBO or similar injunction on him.

edit: Ah! I see you said "I’m on a long term joint tenancy with my partner, a 5 years one. " Do you mean it's a 5 year fixed term contract? Seems unlikely (as contracts longer than 3 years have special conditions). But if so, what are the start and end dates?

Or do you mean you've been there 5 years? If so, have you been signing (annual? 6monthly?) fixed term contacts (again, what's the most recent start/end dates)? Or are you now in a periodic (rolling) tenancy?

nrmm

propertyrental said:

1) Executing a Deed of Assignment, assigning his rights and obligations from him to you, would require the consent and signatures of both joint tenants and landlord.

2) it sounds like he may not currently have 'mentally capacity', in legal terms at present, which may prohibit him from signing such a document - wait for psychiatric report?

3) using his email to attempt to provide consent from him to the LL for a change to the tenancy would be fraud - a criminal offence.

4) Your first step must be to get the LL's view: is the LL willing to accept you as a sole tenant, be that via a Deed of Assignment, or surrender of the current joint tenancy and replacement with a new tenancy in your sole name. This may depend on the LL's opinion of you and your salary and reliability.

5) Assuming the LL agrees, then, and only then, you can look at how to achieve this.

6) I can't recall if you've confirmed the current tenancy: is it in a fixed term, or periodic?

A periodic tenancy can be ended by either of the joint tenants serving notice. So you could serve notice to end the tenancy (providing the correct notice period eg 1 month/tenancy period?) and this would bind your joint tenant too.

A fixed term tenancy can be ended on the last date of the fixed term by all joint tenants vacating. No notice needed. Or by an 'early surrender', which requires consent of all joint tenants and Landlord. Or a Break Clause, if any, but this also requires both joint tenants' consents.

7) So your options are either
a) proper notice to end the tenancy, which takes time, or
b) Early Surrender/Deed Assignment etc, which requires your ex's consent (as well as the LL's)

8) Finally as a last resort, there's the option of getting the ex banned from entering the property. I'm no expert in this area but if he's been violent, the police could (I believe) prosecute and a magistrate could apply an ASBO or similar injunction on him.

edit: Ah! I see you said "I’m on a long term joint tenancy with my partner, a 5 years one. " Do you mean it's a 5 year fixed term contract? Seems unlikely (as contracts longer than 3 years have special conditions). But if so, what are the start and end dates?

Or do you mean you've been there 5 years? If so, have you been signing (annual? 6monthly?) fixed term contacts (again, what's the most recent start/end dates)? Or are you now in a periodic (rolling) tenancy?

I passed on your fantastic thorough advice to my LL.. we’re just on our 1st year of a 5 yrs tenancy..