Joint to sole tenancy
Joint tenants each have all the rights and responsibilities set out in the terms and conditions of the tenancy agreement and are both liable for the rent until one person has been removed and a new tenancy has been agreed.
A joint tenancy means that two people are responsible for making sure the tenancy conditions are met and have equal rights to stay in the tenancy until it is ended.
If one joint tenant formally ends the tenancy, the tenancy comes to an end even if the other joint tenant has not asked to end the tenancy.
Getting a sole tenancy if you have a joint tenancy and the other tenant has left
Just because one of the joint tenants has gone away or does not live at your home anymore it does not mean that their tenancy has ended.
A tenancy agreement continues until it is legally ended by the tenant(s) or by us.
Both tenants will remain 'jointly and severally liable' for the tenancy.
This means that the tenant who has left the home will still be responsible for any rent charges after they have left.
You should contact your housing officer to discuss your situation and find out if you can get a new sole tenancy before any recovery action is taken.
Joint tenancy and the end of a relationship
If you have a joint tenancy and your relationship breaks down, we cannot decide who stays in the property.
You will need to agree between yourselves or you can ask a court to decide.
You will need to tell us what is happening.
If you are getting divorced, you can apply to the court to transfer the tenancy to one of the joint tenants. We advise you get legal advice.
If you have a joint tenancy, either tenant can end the whole tenancy.
A joint tenancy will end after four weeks’ written notice of termination has been given by either one of the joint tenants.
We may, at our discretion, grant a sole tenancy to the remaining joint tenant.
You would get a Fixed Term Tenancy (FTT) and not a life time tenancy and you would need to take ownership of any debt that is on the rent account once the new tenancy is given.
For further information or to discuss your tenancy please contact your Housing Officer.