Joint tenancies
The law is changing
Private tenants will get new rights.
Renters' Rights Act changes start from 1 May 2026.
For now, your rights stay the same.
What is a joint tenancy?
You probably have a joint tenancy agreement if:
you and the other tenants all signed the same agreement
your agreement lists other tenants' names with your name
Talk before you all sign
Try to agree what happens if:
there are unpaid bills or rent
someone damages the property
one tenant wants to leave when the others want to stay
the whole deposit is returned to the lead tenant
Write down what you agree to avoid future problems.
What you're all responsible for
You are all responsible for:
making sure the whole rent is paid
looking after the property
Your tenancy agreement might call this 'joint and several liability'.
Responsibility for rent
You are all responsible for the whole rent even if you pay different amounts.
You might choose to split the rent between you. But your landlord can ask you to pay more if other joint tenants do not pay their share.
Check the guarantor agreement to see what you are responsible for if you are a guarantor for a joint tenant.
Example: Joint responsibility for rent
Sam, Ben and Lucy are joint tenants in a shared house.
The rent is £1200 a month. They each pay the landlord £400.
A few months into the tenancy, Ben moves out and stops paying his share of the rent.
The landlord can now ask Sam and Lucy to pay the full rent of £1200.
They decide to split it between them and pay £600 each to avoid rent arrears.
Damage to the property
You are all responsible for damage to the property.
Your landlord can choose who they ask to pay for it, even if that person did not cause the damage.
Agree on bills and council tax
You can agree between yourselves how to split the bills.
The person whose name is on the bill is usually responsible for it.
If more than one person's name is on the bill, everyone named is responsible.
Your landlord usually has to pay council tax if you live in an HMO.
Read more about council tax and help to pay it.
Repairs
Any of you can:
Problems with housemates
Try to talk through problems with your housemates.
Agree what to do before problems come up. For example, decide how to split rent and bills.
If you have guests, you are responsible for their behaviour and any damage to the property.
Your housemates cannot stop you having visitors. But it can help if you let your housemates know about visitors in advance and try not to disturb them.
How to deal with problems in a shared house.
Being asked to leave
Your landlord needs to give you a legal notice. This is the first step to ending the tenancy for everyone.
More on eviction notices from private landlords.
Joint tenants cannot force each other to leave.
You cannot stop another joint tenant from coming into the property. For example, by changing the locks.
Your options are different if you're experiencing domestic abuse.
You do not have to give up your tenancy straight away if you leave.
Last updated: 12 March 2026
