I am landlord to a three bedroom flat rented to x 3 tenants signed up to a one year lease . One of the tenants is buying his own flat and wants to move before his end of tenancy. Is it his responsibility to find a new tenant to take on his tenancy ? And is it his responsibility to cover any short fall of rent if he is unable to find a replacement?
Finding the right tenant is the most important part of landlording, so never leave it solely to another tenant, particularly one that has no future investment in the property.
The outgoing tenant is liable for rent to the end of the contract. If this is a joint tenancy, then the other tenants are also liable for the shortfall. If you and the other tenants agree to him leaving, then you can insist on rent until a replacement is found plus your actual costs in re-letting, (but no more). The tenancy would have to be ended by a deed of surrender and would end it for everyone because there is only one tenancy. This would happen when the new person is ready to sign up and would involve everyone signing a whole new tenancy agreement plus all the other required documents. I would suggest a 6 month term and then periodic thereafter.
You should explain all this to the group and ask them if they all want to go ahead.
Incidently, if these tenants are not related, then the property is an HMO, which I assume you are aware of.
It is difficult to say if the tenant if telling the truth about buying a flat, unless you dig into his solicitors to confirm that it is true.
If your tenancy agreement if correctly issued, the tenant should recompensate you for the early termination, unless you find someone else within this period.
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