Is my tenancy agreement valid? Company LL does not own the property

Tenant Discussion
1

I recently received a tenancy agreement for a property I’m planning to rent. It looks like a default OpenRent agreement. However, I have a few concerns about the legality of the agreement and would appreciate some advice.

  1. The contract lists a limited company as the landlord, but according to the Land Registry, this company does not own the property. The registered owners are individuals, not the company. The company was formed just before the tenancy agreement was created.
  2. The agreement is signed “on behalf of” the company, but it doesn’t explicitly state that the company is acting as a managing agent for the real owners. There’s no mention in the contract of any formal authorisation allowing the company to act on behalf of the property owners.
  3. My concerns:
  • Is this tenancy agreement legally valid if the company does not own the property and there is no clear mention of a management agreement between the owners and the company?
  • What happens if the company dissolves or fails to fulfil its contractual obligations? Do the actual owners bear any responsibility in such a case?
  • Could this setup affect my rights as a tenant, especially regarding deposit protection, maintenance, and potential eviction processes?
  1. In my previous rental agreements, I directly contracted with the property owners, and the letting agents were clearly named and operated in an agency role. This new agreement, however, seems different and a bit unclear.

I’m trying to figure out if this is a common practice and whether I should be worried. Any insights or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated!

2

Based on your point No1, I would not signed it

3

Well done for doing your checks. I would ask your prospective landlord to explain why?

4

Thanks for the replies. Their intention is to eventually transfer the ownership to the limited company. That is completely fine with me, and I have no reason to assume any foul play. However, from a legal standpoint, I’m not sure about the contract’s validity, at least until the transfer of ownership takes place.

5

They should write it in the owners name currently. When they transfer ownership to the Ltd company, legally that Ltd Company would then become your landlord anyway.

6

Thank you, that was my understanding as well. There should be no reason to do it in any other way. Cheers!

7

Have you checked that the Directors of the Ltd company match those of the owner just to further re-assure you that this isn’t a scam.

8

Yes, same people in the company and the registry. Thanks for your thoughts.

9

The landlord doesnt need to be the owner of the property, but can be anyone with a consent to let. I think that this can extend to companies, but there would be extra complications for the landlord. It shouldnt cause a problem for you though and would be an AST.

10

This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.