The Tenancy Agreement
The applicant will be given a draft copy of our standard tenancy agreement together with our Tenants Guide, a copy of the referencing criteria, Myproperty File introduction, deposit information and a copy of the Holding Deposit Receipt when they make their offer and pay their holding deposit. The applicant is strongly advised to read these carefully or have them checked by the CAB or a solicitor before they sign the actual tenancy agreement for the property. The tenancy agreement is a binding contract between the applicant and the landlord. Do not sign the tenancy agreement unless you agree to all that is stated within it.
The Tenancy Agreement signed between the Landlord and the Tenant contains the rights and responsibilities of each party during the Tenancy. The Landlord and the Tenant will be responsible for carrying out the promises they have made in that Agreement.
If the Tenant breaks any of those promises the Landlord can hold him to account. If damage has been caused, the Landlord may charge the Tenant for that damage, and either recover the money owed from the Deposit paid (see below), or take action against the Tenant in the county court to seek compensation. In some circumstances the Landlord will be entitled to ask the court to bring the Tenancy to an end.
Joint tenancies: sharing the responsibilities
If you enter into a Tenancy Agreement jointly with another person you will both be bound by the promises that you have made. However, that does not mean that you will only be responsible for your share of the rent, or your share of the other promises made. Joint and several liabilities mean that the Landlord could hold each tenant to account for any failure by you or your co-tenant(s) to comply with the obligations of the Tenancy Agreement whether or not you have kept your part of the bargain, which means that each person could be asked to pay the full rent arrears or other costs and losses that are outstanding.
Your responsibility for meeting all the expectations of the Tenancy Agreement will continue until the Agreement is brought to an end at the termination of the Tenancy by the Landlord giving notice or the Tenant leaving on the last day of the fixed term or any extension of the Tenancy. Leaving will not bring your responsibility (and legal liability) to an end (see below).
Change of tenancy details / additional tenants
If during the tenancy, you require to change any details within the tenancy agreement there will be an administration charge of £240 (inc. VAT).
If you require an additional tenant to be added to the tenancy agreement, then they will need to go through the referencing procedures as outlined under section References.
The Tenancy term
The Tenant may not leave the Tenancy early unless the Landlord agrees. If the Landlord does agree you must accept any reasonable conditions that the Landlord might apply. If in breach of the tenancy agreement and the tenant leaves the property before the end of the fixed term the tenants remain liable for the rent, all the other obligations of the tenancy and the security of the property until the end of the fixed term or another person enters into a new tenancy whichever is the earlier.
If the Tenancy Agreement contains a break clause this will only be enforceable if all persons forming the Tenant give notice. One person forming the Tenant cannot give notice during a fixed term to end his or her responsibilities for the Tenancy.
Ending a Tenancy early
If the Tenant vacates the Premises during the Term apart from according to any agreed break clause which is included within the agreement, the tenant will remain liable to pay any outstanding fees due to the agent by the landlord and any other monies payable under this agreement until the Term expires: or the Premises are re-let, whichever is earlier.
Evidence of the outstanding moneys due is available on request.
Periodic Tenancies
Once the fixed term agreement comes to an end, if you remain in the property without a new signed Tenancy Agreement, the contract becomes a statutory periodic tenancy there is no legal requirement for either party to do anything at all - the Tenancy can continue indefinitely on a periodic basis and on exactly the same terms as the original agreement, which still fully applies.
If the Tenancy becomes periodic you will be required to give one month’s notice in writing. You will be liable for all the obligations of the Tenancy Agreement during the notice period.
Tenancy deposit - capped at five week rent only
This will be paid by the Tenant on or before the start of their intended Tenancy. Warren Anthony are members of the Deposit Protection Service.
Please note we only hold deposits for Landlords who have opted for our Fully Managed Service.
Your Tenancy Agreement sets out exactly how the money will be dealt with at the end of the Tenancy and what you can expect to happen. The fact that a deposit has been paid does not mean that a Tenant can afford to ignore any other promise contained in the Tenancy Agreement. The money paid as the deposit does not represent the extent of your liability to the Landlord for any breach of the agreement.
Tenant to Tenant disputes must be settled between yourselves. Please contact our office if further advice is required.
The deposit cannot be used to pay the rent for the last period of the Tenancy. It may however be used after the Tenancy has finished to compensate the Landlord if the Tenant has been in breach of his obligations under the Tenancy Agreement by failing to pay rent.
As the Tenant, it is your responsibility to ensure that you have received copies of all legal paperwork, contracts, inventories. If you do not have them then our offices will be happy to email you a copy. No paper copies available.