Joint tenancies are common among friends, couples, and families. This guide explains how joint and several liability works, what happens when one person wants to leave, and how to protect yourself.
Renting with other people is increasingly common in the UK — whether with friends, a partner, or family members. But many joint tenants do not fully understand what a joint tenancy means in law, or what happens when one person wants to leave.
A joint tenancy is where two or more people sign the same tenancy agreement and each becomes a tenant. In most residential lettings, this is an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) taken jointly.
This is the most important concept in joint tenancies.
Joint and several liability means that each tenant is individually liable for the whole of the rent — not just their share. If your flatmate stops paying, your landlord can pursue you for the entire shortfall.
In practice:
In a joint tenancy, the deposit is usually paid as a single sum and protected under a single deposit protection scheme. When the tenancy ends:
Tip: Keep records of who paid what share of the deposit and agree in advance (in writing) how it will be divided on departure.
This is where joint tenancies become complicated.
If the tenancy is in its fixed term and one person wants to leave, they cannot unilaterally end their share of the tenancy. Options include:
If there is no agreement, the departing tenant remains liable for their share of the rent until the fixed term ends.
This is more dangerous. If the tenancy has become periodic (rolling month to month), any one joint tenant can end the entire tenancy for all joint tenants by giving valid notice to quit. This was confirmed by the Supreme Court in Hammersmith & Fulham LBC v Monk [1992].
This means one flatmate can give notice and end the home for everyone else — even if the others want to stay. This is a serious risk in periodic joint tenancies.
If a co-tenant is in serious breach (e.g. causing damage, not paying their share), the options are limited:
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