Whether you are privately renting accommodation, lodging in a landlord’s home, sharing student accommodation with other students or living in Halls of Residence, the important matter is that you are aware of your rights and responsibilities under the Tenancy.
Private Rented Accommodation
Generally this will involve entering into an Assured Shorthold Tenancy with the Landlord for a fixed period of time (generally six or 12 months).
You will be required to pay a deposit which will have to be protected by the Landlord under the tenancy deposit protection rules.
Under the terms of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy, you will be committed to pay the agreed rent until the end of that agreement. At that time, the deposit ought to be returned to you, although the Landlord is entitled to make reasonable deductions in respect of any unpaid rent or damage to the property.
Lodging in the Landlords Home
This can be a more risky way of living away from home as there is no requirement for any written contract in relation to lodging in somebody’s home but you are of course best advised to prepare a Contract for you both to agree and sign. Any deposit paid to a landlord that you lodge with is not covered or protected in a government approved scheme and so the risks involved in lodging in somebody’s home are much wider. There will also be no legal requirement for them to give you any specific notice of termination of the agreement and you should therefore think very carefully about committing to such an agreement.
Sharing Rented Accommodation with Others – Houses in Multiple Occupation
A significant amount of shared student accommodation falls within this heading. Essentially, the property is a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) if there are three or more unrelated people living in the property as at least two separate households and if they share basic amenities such as kitchen and bathroom.
If the property you are renting falls within this category, then there are additional rules in relation to requirements of Health and Safety that the Landlord must undertake. For example, he must ensure that proper fire safety measures are in place and arrange for annual gas safety checks, five yearly electrics checks etc.
It is important to note that many of the large student accommodation blocks owned by educational establishments, such as Halls of Residence etc, are not classed as HMO’s.
If the property is a HMO, the Local Council will need to provide the Landlord with a licence if the property is three or more storeys high, contains five or more unrelated tenants living in two or more separate households.
If the Landlord does not have the appropriate licence from the Council, they can be fined and ordered to repay up to 12 months of rent. Further, any Section 21 Notice (two months’ notice to leave) given by the Landlord is not valid and/or enforceable.
If you consider that you live in a HMO and the Landlord is not complying with the rules as set out above, including the health and safety issues, you can request the local Council to carry out a housing Health Safety Rating System Assessment which will identify specific hazards and dangers at the property.
Shared Student Accommodation
Dependent on the type of Tenancy Agreement entered into, the rights of the tenants may differ.
Some Landlords ask each tenant to sign a separate Tenancy Agreement, resulting in separate tenancies. Alternatively, the Landlord may ask all of the Tenants to sign a single Tenancy Agreement with the Landlord when they move in and this will result in a Joint Tenancy. The effect of this is that each Tenant is jointly and separately responsible for paying the entire rent of the property. So, if one Tenant fails to pay their rent, their Joint Tenants are responsible for that payment.
Further, the risk involved in signing a Joint Tenancy is that the deposit is usually treated as a single deposit for the whole of the property. Therefore if, again, one of the Joint Tenants fails to pay their rent, the Landlord is entitled to deduct that shortfall, or the costs of repair of any damage caused by any Tenant, from the whole deposit. In other words, the actions of your Joint Tenants can impact significantly on your financial position both in relation to paying rent on a weekly or monthly basis and in relation to your recovery of your deposit at the end of your Tenancy Agreement.
Ending a Fixed Term Joint Tenancy
One of the biggest problems with a fixed term Joint Tenancy is that it can only be ended before the fixed term ends if you either “Surrender” the tenancy or if there is a break clause within the same.
In order to successfully be in a position to surrender a tenancy, the Landlord and all of the Joint Tenants must agree that the Tenancy can be ended early. This can of course be difficult to establish where the remaining Joint Tenants will remain liable for the rent shortfall. It may of course be possible that the remaining Joint Tenants will be able to find another person to become a Joint Tenant with them but, in order for this to happen, the Landlord will have to agree and negotiate a new Tenancy Agreement with the remaining Joint Tenants.
Alternatively, if there is a break clause in the Tenancy Agreement, this will allow you to give notice and end the Tenancy Agreement early. However, you will need the agreement of the other Joint Tenants.
Ending a Joint Tenancy – not fixed term
At any time in such a Tenancy Agreement, any Joint Tenant can give a valid Notice to Quit to the Landlord which then ends the Tenancy Agreement.
However, the Tenancy comes to an end for each and every of the Joint Tenants and, once the Notice to Quit expires, none of the Joint Tenants will have the right to remain living at the property.
If you have found yourself living in a property, or under a Tenancy Agreement which is not suitable for your needs, or, even if you wish to know more of your rights in relation to terminating the Agreement at any stage, it is advisable to seek proper legal advice from a Solicitor.
Should you wish to have a chat or arrange an appointment then please feel free to telephone our Janine Griffiths on 02920 470909 or e-mail her at [email protected].