Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Characteristics Of A Shared Version Tenancy

By Alex D White


Joint tenancy requires that you and your roommates sign only one tenancy agreement document implying that all tenants will have equal rights and responsibilities under the agreement. However, there are key elements that can complicate the relationship between the tenants if not understood. Shared version tenancy entails a lot and it is important you understand its features before you decide to go with it.

Under the joint tenancy program, all parties to the contract are jointly and individually responsible for rent and any damage caused to the building. They are also responsible for any accrued amount of rent whether personally liable or not. Therefore, if any one tenant fails to pay his rent for whatever reason, the landlord can decide to pursue only one tenant and make him pay the full amount of the claim.

The landlord will require you to pay at least one month deposit before you sign the joint tenancy agreement. This is to cover any part of unpaid rent or damages that any of you may cause to the building. You will likely be required to make this payment directly to the landlord or his agents.

You and your roommates will only submit a single deposit to your landlord. The landlord will deduct any of his claim arising from either damages or unpaid rent from this single deposit. Therefore, if any of you fails to honor his part of the agreement as far as rent is concerned or cause damage to the building, the landlord will deduct the cost from the single deposit and give back the remaining to you and your roommates for sharing.

It is possible to ask for a new tenancy agreement if you are replacing a tenant or one tenant decides to move out. This is beneficial in that you ensure that if that moving tenant asks for his share of the deposit, you can offset it against his unpaid bills or damages. It also helps to makes sure the new tenant bears his part of the deposit.

You cannot alter any terms of the tenancy contract without the permission of your property owner and your other tenants. You cannot take in a lodger or improve anything on the building without the written consent of other tenants and the landlord. Put also in mind that you cannot assign your tenancy to someone else without other tenants agreeing to this decision.

With a fixed term tenancy agreement, if the agreed period has expired, it is not possible to end the tenancy contract without the other tenants agreeing to your decision. Terminating joint tenancies can be very difficult because you require the consent of all parties to the contract. Your landlord must also be given prior notice.

The landlord has no right to terminate the tenancy contract of any one tenant and leave the rest. If he has to evict any of you, then he will have to evict all of you and then enter into a new agreement of tenancy with the remaining tenants. Eviction of any tenants in joint tenancy will mean the end of the contract under common law.




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