Question

Tenancy Agreements (England) | Tenant Obligations (England)

Is a new agreement needed if tenant takes a partner in?

28 Jan 2018 | 1 comment

I have had a girl on her own as a tenant for about 5 years. On checking last week, it appears that she now has a new man that has moved in with her. Is it critical to have a new tenancy agreement? What if he won’t agree to sign any new agreement? Thank you.

Answer

1 Comment

  1. guildy

    It would certainly be better if you could get both on a new tenancy especially as you’re now in the knowledge (a new tenancy is the way to do this).

    The problem that can arise is if the actual tenant leaves and the boyfriend stays. What is the boyfriend? Is he a tenant or just a lodger? If named on a new tenancy, it’s simple – he’s a tenant and we all know where we stand.

    That being said, it’s not “critical”.

    If you haven’t accepted him as a tenant then he will remain a lodger of the tenant. The problem is the line between lodger and tenant can become blurred over time. For example, if he rings asking for the boiler to be fixed which you then do, this is blurring line between you treating him as a lodger and now treating him as a tenant. At some point it’s possible through the actions of the parties for him to inadvertently become a tenant.

    As suggested, by making him a tenant on a proper tenancy agreement, all these questions go away.

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