I have 4 tenants who wish to give me their notice. Then, 3 of them wish to continue to rent the property for a further 7 months with another person as their 4th. I am happy with the situation. What must I legally have in place to let this happen?
As I understand it, they must serve me with a Deed of Surrender - is that correct, or must I serve it to them? They wish to move out at the end of next month.
They also have a Reposit rather than a deposit. It seems unfair on them that they should lose that money only to have to find either a new Reposit amount or a deposit. Is possible for them to roll over their Reposit?
What mistakes should I be aware to avoid in this situation?
You will need to arrange a checkout inspection first and refund the deposit less any damage. You may then be able to do a deed of assignment between the old group and the new group. Alternatively, a deed of surrender which you draft and you and they sign with a witness. Then a whole new tenancy with all new paperwork and a new deposit.
Keep it simple, terminate the old tenancy agreement, check the property and deduct any damage etc. so the fourth departing tenant is subject to his share of the costs, then issue a new TA and deposit registration for the remaining 3 tenants.