2 Common Misunderstandings by Tenants about Rental Agreements

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The Law is the Law, whether we like it or not, and rental law is no different in that respect, Landlords and tenants alike need to abide by the letter of the law. Where rental law varies from common practice, or common sense – the law takes priority, so it is worth knowing the law.

There are 2 points of law which tenants seem to frequently misunderstand, and which cause problems time and again. These are:

• Jointly and Severally
• Notice to Quit

Jointly and Severally

Jointly and Severally will apply to every tenancy where there is more than one tenant. It doesn’t have to by law, but I am quite confident that every tenancy agreement ever produced for multiple tenants will use this phrase. It is a legal expression which means a partnership in which individual decisions are bound to all parties involved. Agreements which try to use modern English for clarity may use the expression “Separately and Together”.  When you enter into an agreement using this phrase it is vital that you understand that the law sees you and your housemates as one person. You are all responsible for each other’s rent and damages and your guarantors are responsible for rent and damages for the whole flat. If someone drops out, the remaining tenants will have to pay their rent.

Be as sure as you can that you trust the people you are moving in with and never sign a jointly and severally liable agreement with people you don’t know. You have entered into much the same legal obligations with your fellow tenants as if you had married them, their debts are your debts, their damages are your damages. If they give the Landlord notice to quit – then you gave the Landlord Notice to quit. If they didn’t pay their share of a utility bill, then you will have to pay it.

The law sees all tenants named as Jointly and Severally on a tenancy agreement as acting as one person, so choose flat mates very carefully.

Notice to Quit

This subject ought to be straight forward, but sadly never seems to be so. The date of your tenancy commencement, and the regularity that you pay rent is key to defining what happens. The rules apply strictly to both you, and your landlord although they are more onerous on your landlord than you.

Your initial tenancy (called a Contractual Tenancy) will be for a fixed period – set by law as a minimum of 6 months. Your landlord cannot legally offer you a tenancy shorter than this, however they can insert a break clause in the agreement. At the end of your contractual tenancy – your tenancy doesn’t have to end! Plus you don’t have to tell your Landlord whether it is going to end if they haven’t inserted a specific clause requiring you to, if you really want to be horrible you can let them know on the day that you move out. I will assume that they inserted the clause. If you stay then your tenancy becomes a Periodic Tenancy, with identical terms to the Contractual Tenancy (so don’t throw the Agreement away!).

The big problem that tenants fail to understand about tenancies is that the date of the tenancy is the only date that you can give notice to quit from. Perhaps best illustrated with an example:

If you have a 6 month tenancy which begins on the 7th of January, where you pay the rent every month then:

The first opportunity that you have to end the tenancy is 7th July – and you need to tell the landlord in writing on or before the 7th June. If you stay beyond 7th July then you need to give notice on or before the 7th of each month if you intend to leave the following month. So as an example if you decide on the 8th of September that you wish to leave, the earliest that your notice can apply to is the 7th November.

If you feel that this is harsh, remember that it works 2 ways. Your landlord has to give you 2 months notice, and if they decide on the 8th of September that they want you to leave, the earliest that they can give you notice to leave is the 7th December.