This is part of a series of guidance about tenancy agreements provided for students.

Joint vs. Individual Tenancies

One of the most important things for sharers looking to rent a house together is whether they will have a joint tenancy or individual tenancies. You will often not have any say in the matter (most landlords prefer to use joint tenancies) but it’s still important to understand what this means for you in practice.

Joint Tenancies

This is the most common type of tenancy that landlords of shared properties like to use. It means that all the sharers sign up to one joint agreement and are all bound together by its terms.

The most important feature of this is ‘joint and several liability’. This legal jargon means that any or all of the tenants can be held liable for all of the conditions of the agreement, and that includes payment of the rent. If one of the tenants stops paying the rent, the landlord is perfectly within his rights to pursue any of the tenants for the rent arrears, not just the one who has failed to pay. Now, as long as you trust the people you are planning to live with, this isn’t the end of the world, but it should press home how important it is to think carefully about your potential housemates.

The upside of a joint tenancy is that you are renting the whole house, so you should have what is known as ‘quiet enjoyment’ of the whole house – i.e., free from inappropriate interruptions from the landlord.

Individual Tenancies

With an individual tenancy you will just be responsible for your share of the rent. You will have a right to ‘quiet enjoyment’ of your room, but only shared use of the communal areas. This means the downside is that if one bedroom is empty the landlord is allowed to enter the house and show any potential tenants around the communal areas, and of course the empty room (but not your room). You also have no say in who the other people living in the house are – if a room is vacant the landlord could let it to any tenant of their choosing.

Summary

  • Joint tenancies are generally more common than individual tenancies.
  • With a joint tenancy you will be jointly and severally liable, which means you might have to pay your housemate’s share of the rent if he doesn’t.
  • With an individual tenancy you will only have to pay your own rent, but the landlord could put anyone into any vacant rooms.

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This information is provided for general guidance only, and should not be considered to be definitive or legally binding in respect of any specific situation. If you have a specific query, you should contact your Student Advice Centre, or a Citizens’ Advice Bureau.

This guide is copyright LetsUni, and may not be reproduced without prior written permission.

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