Remove wife from Tenancy

PeterJames123

Hi All,

Hi everyone,

Back in October, my wife and I signed a 12-month rental agreement and moved into our current home with our children. Unfortunately, I’ve recently discovered that she’s having an affair. Her new partner has apparently told her she has every right to stay here until the end of the tenancy since her name is on the agreement—which, to be honest, I find incredibly inappropriate given the situation.

I’ve made it clear that continuing to live together under these circumstances is not something I can accept. She’s agreed to move out, but has asked me to do two things:

1. Request the landlord to remove her name from the tenancy agreement, and
2. Transfer her half of the savings (which are currently in my account) so she can secure a new place to live.

I’m in the process of drafting an email to the landlord and would really appreciate any thoughts or advice. For context, we moved in with the intention of making this our long-term home. I’ve invested thousands into the property—on blinds, appliances, furniture, etc.—and the landlord initially mentioned he had no plans to sell, as long as we were happy here.

This is a nightmare situation for me personally, but I genuinely love the property and can comfortably manage the rent and bills on my own moving forward.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Dear [Landlord’s/Agent’s Name],

I hope you’re well.

I’m writing regarding the tenancy at xxx Road, which is currently under both my name and Wife’s name. Due to a change in our personal circumstances, wife’s name will be moving out and has agreed to be removed from the tenancy.

I would like to remain in the property and continue the tenancy under my name alone. Since the start of the tenancy, I have personally paid the full rent each month and intend to continue doing so without any issues.

I understand you may wish to carry out an affordability check, and I’m happy to provide any documentation you require. I am also willing to pay several months’ rent upfront to support the process.

Please let me know the next steps, and thank you in advance for your consideration.

Kind regards,

My Name

anselld

Personally I would leave out the rent in advance offer at this stage.
There may also be an admin fee for amending the tenancy but that is capped at £50 by the tenant fees act.  No other fees are allowed.
Of course the Landlord is entitled to say “No” anyway.

_Penny_Dreadful

PeterJames123 said:

Hi All,

Hi everyone,

Back in October, my wife and I signed a 12-month rental agreement and moved into our current home with our children. Unfortunately, I’ve recently discovered that she’s having an affair. Her new partner has apparently told her she has every right to stay here until the end of the tenancy since her name is on the agreement—which, to be honest, I find incredibly inappropriate given the situation.

I’ve made it clear that continuing to live together under these circumstances is not something I can accept. She’s agreed to move out, but has asked me to do two things:

1. Request the landlord to remove her name from the tenancy agreement, and
2. Transfer her half of the savings (which are currently in my account) so she can secure a new place to live.

I’m in the process of drafting an email to the landlord and would really appreciate any thoughts or advice. For context, we moved in with the intention of making this our long-term home. I’ve invested thousands into the property—on blinds, appliances, furniture, etc.—and the landlord initially mentioned he had no plans to sell, as long as we were happy here.

This is a nightmare situation for me personally, but I genuinely love the property and can comfortably manage the rent and bills on my own moving forward.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Dear [Landlord’s/Agent’s Name],

I hope you’re well.

I’m writing regarding the tenancy at xxx Road, which is currently under both my name and Wife’s name. Due to a change in our personal circumstances, wife’s name will be moving out and has agreed to be removed from the tenancy.

I would like to remain in the property and continue the tenancy under my name alone. Since the start of the tenancy, I have personally paid the full rent each month and intend to continue doing so without any issues.

I understand you may wish to carry out an affordability check, and I’m happy to provide any documentation you require. I am also willing to pay several months’ rent upfront to support the process.

Please let me know the next steps, and thank you in advance for your consideration.

Kind regards,

My Name

As a landlord myself I wouldn't take the word of one party to remove the other party from a joint tenancy agreement.  I wouldn't want to find myself being accused of an illegal eviction further down the line.

If both of you contacted me, in writing, to request the tenancy be assigned to you then I'd be more open to doing it.

I agree with anselld that at this stage I wouldn't include the offer of rent in advance.

Shelter has a guide for married, joint tenants in England where the relationship has broken down that you might find useful.

https://england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/legal/relationship_breakdown/housing_rights_of_married_joint_tenants/married_and_civil_partner_joint_tenant_relationship_breakdown_law

elsien

As an aside, spending thousands on a rental property is really not sensible.
Whatever  the landlord says, their circumstances could change and they could decide to sell at anytime. 

Although having said that furniture and white goods is all stuff that you would take with you anyway, so not really invested in the property as such.

As it is a fixed term tenancy, it does need the consent of both people which the landlord would need to confirm. If it was a rolling tenancy, you could do it unilaterally. 

Herzlos

You'd both need to contact the landlord, so you could phrase the letter such that both of you sign it? Or have your ex call the landlord to confirm?

saajan_12

How does your income stack up against the rent? Reason being, even if you have been paying the whole time, the LL's worry would be that they are losing the option to also go after the wife if there was any issue with the rent. 

However can't hurt to ask. They would probably need written confirmation from wife that she is happy for the tenancy with her to end or get all 3 people to sign a deed of variation to change from 2 tenants to 1. 

RAS

Will be more effective if you both sign the letter. The LL can't been seen to reallocate the tenancy to one party unless the other wants it too.

Of course, ex is entitled to half the savings regardless and her moving out isn't a preresquite. 

DullGreyGuy

You're asking the landlord to consider going from having two people to chase for unpaid rent to go down to just one. Maybe your landlord is friendly and will just do it for you, certainly some would want something in return. 

If you still want to stay long term you could maybe suggest simply ending the old agreement and you alone signing up to a new 12 month agreement. 

Voyager2002

Why bother?

Your wife is free to live wherever she likes. However, the contract means that she is legally liable for the rent if for any reason you fail to make the payment. Since the rent is for her children's home, it is reasonable that she should continue to be liable to ensure that the rent is paid.

In any case, the tenancy is only for twelve months.

There are far more urgent and important matters to think about right now, such as helping the children to adjust to the new situation.

Herzlos

Voyager2002 said:

Why bother?

It sounds like the ex wife isn't going to move out until she's off the lease, which isn't unreasonable from her perspective but not an ideal situation. 

RHemmings

If it was me, then I would act differently in the following two situations.

A: if I was paying a market rent and could easily find another place to live
B: if I was paying a rent significantly under market rents, and in order to move would end up paying much more. 

In situation A:, if your landlord refuses to take your wife off the lease (which is not unreasonable, as posted by others), then you could simply give notice that you are going to move. The notice could include an offer for the OP to continue, but otherwise you will be looking for somewhere else to live. 

In situation B:, I would be less likely to rock the boat. But, it's tricky as the OP does not want to live with their ex-wife (to be), then if the ex-wife (to be) doesn't want to move out without being off the tenancy agreement, then tougher decisions need to be made.