UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hey

i'll happily admit I haven't used Spareroom and know very little about it's usefulness.

One of my 2 tenants - currently in a periodic tenancy period - is leaving the UK. Needs to exit in mid June. The remaining tenant wishes to use Spareroom to find a replacement

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think the current tenant should be identifying the replacement (as he has to live with them!) but I will have the final say.

Would you run the usual reference and credit checks etc on this new person?
Would a new AST - with a reset of terms - be appropriate or overkill?
Would simply letting the existing, trusted tenant collect the rent from the new person be easier?

I'd want the new person to abide by the same lease terms etc and they'd have to lodge a deposit (replacing the former tenant's wedge at the TDS)

My main concern is that if a suitable tenant is found, because of their unfamiliarity with the existing tenant, there's an increased risk of them leaving and me going back to square one. So I'm also considering just serving a Section 21 and getting a brand new pair in

Thoughts on the efficacy of Spareroom and the process appreciated. Thanks

The only person who should be choosing tenants is you.

If they're joint tenants, they can't do this without your consent. Either one of them serves notice to end the tenancy for both of them, or the tenancy continues and the rent needs to be paid.
If you're OK with the remaining tenant taking on a lodger, that's their issue.
The deposit relates to the whole tenancy and won't be returned until it ends, and they need to take that into consideration.

Quote from: jpkeates on April 03, 2023, 09:50:33 AM
The only person who should be choosing tenants is you.

If they're joint tenants, they can't do this without your consent. Either one of them serves notice to end the tenancy for both of them, or the tenancy continues and the rent needs to be paid.
If you're OK with the remaining tenant taking on a lodger, that's their issue.
The deposit relates to the whole tenancy and won't be returned until it ends, and they need to take that into consideration.

All fair points.

If I go down the lodger route I'd imagine that the remaining tenant remains liable for the full rent amount (and any damages etc) while the old tenant has their deposit tied up indefinitely

Will be interesting to see how they react to that!

Quote from: captaincrunch on April 03, 2023, 11:36:45 AMIf I go down the lodger route I'd imagine that the remaining tenant remains liable for the full rent amount (and any damages etc) while the old tenant has their deposit tied up indefinitely

Technically, there's only one rent and one deposit, so they'd both be liable for the rent and the deposit would just stay where it should.

When you protected the deposit, you'd have been asked to nominate a lead tenant (because the deposit protection companies can't deal with multiple people making decisions about deposits), so it's worthwhile getting the tenants to check which one of them it is.

Quote from: jpkeates on April 03, 2023, 12:46:21 PM

Quote from: captaincrunch on April 03, 2023, 11:36:45 AMIf I go down the lodger route I'd imagine that the remaining tenant remains liable for the full rent amount (and any damages etc) while the old tenant has their deposit tied up indefinitely

Technically, there's only one rent and one deposit, so they'd both be liable for the rent and the deposit would just stay where it should.

When you protected the deposit, you'd have been asked to nominate a lead tenant (because the deposit protection companies can't deal with multiple people making decisions about deposits), so it's worthwhile getting the tenants to check which one of them it is.

Again, really good advice. Thank you. Going to check that deposit setup

Just to ram home a couple of the more basic points you can't avoid...

In a joint tenancy if one Tenant serves notice, it ends the tenancy for both Tenants - if you want to keep one Tenant on (in whatever scenario) that means a new tenancy (which you might not desire).
The Tenant, or Lodger, doesn't lodge a portion of a Deposit with the protection scheme - the Landlord does and (if you think about it) that is inextricably linked to the point above.

And the biggest most basic thing I would have to say is - no.

Sure, you can be accommodating if you like... but this sounds like quite a bit of complexity, moving parts and unknowns... and it feels unnecessary in the current renting climate (to me).