Unilaterally leaving a joint tenancy
I'm seeking help/advice when one of the tenants leaving a joint (two) tenancy when perhaps the other doesn't want to.
Assuming 2 joint tenants A & B. Under the new Renters Rights Act 2026 either can serve a Quit Notice to the landlord to give 2 months notice to end the tenancy for both (prior to May both would have had to give notice together). So far so good.
So if A wants out, under normal circumstances any of the following could come next …
- B could take on a new tenancy agreement alone (with landlord’s permission)
- a replacement C is found and starts a new joint tenancy agreement for B & C (with landlord’s permission)
- the landlord evicts B and re-lets the property
However under the last scenario, if B refuses to move out and A has left and stopped paying rent, then my understanding is both A & B are liable for the unpaid rent. The landlord would have to get a section 8 notice approved by the court to evict B and choose which one or both (or the guarantor) he wants to pursue through the courts for the rent arrears. This is no different from pre-May rules and the new legislation has not done anything to help this particular scenario.
Therefore although the new legislation allows one of two tenants to terminate the rental agreement, in practice this only works if the other tenant (and landlord) is willing to move out to or take up a new tenancy agreement. If the other tenant refuses to comply then the tenant that wants to leave is effectively still held hostage and to account for the rent. Have I understood this correctly ?
Unfortunately I can't think of an easy solution either. From what I can see rental agreements will likely be “joint & severally” which means both tenants are liable for rent/damage/etc. regardless of who the originator is. So one option could be to ask the landlord to remove the word “severally” . The other option is put in place a side agreement with the landlord that if B refuses to leave once A’s notice period has run out, then the landlord will only pursue B for unpaid rent. Neither option works in the best interests of the landlord, in fact it curtails their options for getting their money back, so why would they agree ?
Perhaps an odd scenario, but one which I as an inexperienced and risk averse renter could face as I am about to enter into a joint tenancy agreement with another party.