Tenant married, how to add her husband to tenancy?

Landlord Discussion
1

Hi,
I have a 3 bedroom property and it is rented by 3 unrelated colleagues.
They are all in a single tenancy agreement (AST). One of them is married and she is bringing her husband in 2 months time.
How do I add the new person (husband) into the existing AST?

The AST was created by a letting agency. I am not planning to go back to them for this change (too expensive). I am planning to use OpenRent.

When the tenants moved in agency did a tenant referencing. Do I need to do tenant referencing for all them again when the new person moves in?

Is tenant referencing compulsory by law?
Thanks

2

you might want to 1st of all ask yourself a few questions such as is the accommodation classed as a HMO by the local authorities.
also how long has the current tenancy been running as if it is outside of the fixed term I would strongly advise to renew the tenancy agreement to a new agreement so that it can be edited accordingly as you cannot edit an existing AST.

you also need to establish if the new person is to be responsible and credit worthy to be on the AST.
for instance the new person might have a credit problem and fail a credit check for instance and there is other ways of adding someone to an existing tenancy but this would usually involve a separate legal document or simply the renewal of an AST.

I would need more information to be able to point you in the best direction but at least you now know two options for your situation.

3

Thanks so much for the replay and sorry for the delay.
The property is not HMO.
Tenant’s husband is coming from abroad. So, I don’t think he will pass credit check.
If I create the new AST on Open Rent platform is that enough?

4

I think I was being too nice when I wrote to you before I shall try again,
Your property is more likely than not a HMO property and therefore you should contact your local authorities to confirm in writing you will need to contact the private housing rental sector team or the HMO enforcement team.

When you have this in writing confirmed and you are without any doubt whatsoever and you can prove beyond any reasonable doubt that your property is not a HMO or it is you can move forward until then that will be your stumbling block for your weakest link.

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