What is a joint tenancy?
A joint tenancy is when two or more people sign a tenancy agreement and jointly agree to keep to its conditions.
This is a legal agreement between you and one or more people, and us. It means that you and the other joint tenant (or tenants) are equally responsible for keeping to all the conditions of the tenancy agreement, including the payment of rent.
Who can apply for a joint tenancy?
You have the right to apply for a joint tenancy with one or more people, but they must be at least 16 years old and either live or intend to live in your house as their main home.
You and other joint tenants must apply for a joint tenancy in writing. We will need to know details of the proposed change and when you want the arrangement to start.
We will tell you our decision within a month of receiving your written application.
We will only refuse a joint tenancy if we have reasonable grounds to do so.
When would we refuse permission for a joint tenancy?
We may refuse a joint tenancy for the following reasons.
What you must do if you want to end your joint tenancy
You must give us and every person who shares the tenancy with you, four weeks’ notice in writing. This does not end the tenancy of the other joint tenants. If you are married or live in your home with another person as husband and wife, ideally we will need their permission.
If there are arrears when you end your tenancy
You and the other tenant (or tenants) are jointly responsible for paying any rent you owe us. You must pay any outstanding debts along with them before you leave. This includes any rent arrears or rechargeable repairs. So make sure you are happy to share this responsibility before you become a joint tenant.
If a joint tenant leaves your home
You must quickly tell us if the number of people staying in your home changes. This does not affect your tenancy.
If you tell us that a joint tenant has left your home and they have not told us, we will give the joint tenant four weeks to return to the property. After the four weeks, it will no longer be their home. We will also make further investigations to get a forwarding address and find out what they intend to do.
If a joint tenant dies, the tenancy does not end but passes on to the other tenants. The original tenancy continues. The other joint tenants are responsible for any rent arrears or other tenancy-related debts left by the tenant who has died.
Not every joint tenant needs to apply to buy the property along with the person who wants to do so. If this happens, we will write to the other tenant (or tenants) to get their permission for the sale. If you are married or live in your home as husband and wife, we will need their permission.
If you are not satisfied with our decision
If we refuse your application, you may want to appeal against our decision. If this is the case, contact your area housing manager first.