Hi all,
We have a tenant in flat 3 and he is wanting to move into flat 6 when the current tenant moves out next month. Can anyone confirm how we do this, without doing new credit checks etc please.
Kind regards
Tanya
Is this an OR tenancy? Do you have RGI?
I would have thought that as long as the rent remains the same and the flats are pretty much like for like, doing any checks etc would be pointless. It’s entirely up to you whether you do them anyway. No legal requirement.
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Hi,
It is OR. Tenant is basically wanting to downsize from a 2 bed down to a 1 bed and wants to stay with us. But when I created a new listing and said I have found a tenant, because he has not reapplied via OpenRent the system keeps saying “No tenant” and I cant transfer him from the other property.
yeah sounds like something that OR could do at the back end … but probably won’t because it’s in effect creating a new tenancy and they’ll lose their fee.
You’re prob best starting from scratch but skip all referencing and credit checks. You’ll need to end other tenancy, release deposit and reprotect it and you’ll likely be moving to the new APT as the previous tenancy is likely to be the old AST that’s now been converted, right?
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it’s a totally different property so needs to end current tenancy, return deposit, start a new tenancy agreement and new deposit for new place. you will need inventory for end of old tenancy if you want to claim anything from deposit, and inventory for new place
[if you are doing a moving out inventory for the tenant leaving and decide not to do any cleaning etc in between, you can use it again as a move in inventory]
You do still have to do ID checks and right to rent checks for the new tenancy, as well as serving the GSR, deposit certificate/prescibed info, I think, but not credit/affordability checks unless you choose to. You may view the fact they’ve been paying the rent on time on existing place as enough, that’s up to you. However if you dont get affordability/referencing done you may not be able to get RGI for the tenant in the new tenancy.
Good luck
Hi David,
You are correct re ending current tenancy, returning deposit etc and that is all in motion.
I just do not know how to to create a tenancy where i do not need to do referencing, credit checks etc on the tenant as they are the perfect tenant and have been with us for a good few years.
But I need to make sure the correct paperwork is issued to the tenant and the new deposit is protected etc.
I have created an advert (but it isnt live at the moment) and my only thinking was make it live, send link to tenant, they apply and when I get to creating tenancy etc say no to checks etc. But that seems a complete roundabout way of doing it.
Kind regards
Tanya
you need to add the tenants details manually, ans then invite to rent now.
That is exactly what you do, exactly the same as if it was any other tenant applying to move into the property with a new tenancy.
Gives them a chance to review new APT and for you to add any extra clauses needed (eg for a pet).
You may want to specify the notice- draft OR APT doesnt do that, so it is then the RRA default of 2 months plus to end day before rental period.
Also no rent in advance (except 1st month).
Best
The draft didnt, but the live version does.
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The OR downloadable sample APT
Source: OpenRent Assured Periodic Tenancy Agreement (APT) | Download Template
only says
"Initial payment ,1,000.00, one thousand GBP payable in respect of one month’s rent and due following the signing of this agreement.
Rent £1,000.00, one thousand GBP due on the 1st day of each month (the “Rent Payment
Day”), following the expiry of the period covered by the Initial Payment of Rent."
So all it says is that 1st month is 'due following the signing" not any actual date.
Is this different when you create a new APT using OR - can you specify an actual date for the Initial payment? Or is it only due by the 1st day/move in date ?
Best
My comment was about ‘notice’, not about the ‘first payment’. I’m not aware of any change to the first payment conditions, which to me remains very clear & acceptable. ie that the first instalment must be paid before move in. This has always worked fine for me in the past.
1 prep new tenancy agreement, check if there have been any updates in the law that affects your current tenancy, check new guarantor, new e. mail addresses etc for good order
2 agree your deposit situation, agree actual move in /out time and agree it in writing perhaps, at least an e mail confirming your discussion
3. do your condition pix of new flat record any faults in new property
3. sign new tenancy and terminate old one ideally face to face at same time and remember to hand over all your appropriate docs first . you are meant to hand this stuff over before you start the tenancy so maybe sign up in the old flat
4 unbound old deposit and bond new deposit
5. doing this is a bit of a faff, I have done it many times but the deposit bonding makes it more involved. just dont get lulled into the idea its a simple move. in the eyes of the law it ain’t, if anything today you need to have all the I’d dotted and the tees crossed
good luck
It says
" The Initial Payment of Rent is payable upon signing this Agreement and must be paid in cleared funds no later
than the Commencement Date. The Tenant shall have no right to occupy the Premises, until payment of the Deposit and the Initial Payment of Rent has been made in full."
which as you say is as bad as previously - why would you want to have to wait till 1 minute before midnight on move in date to receive the initial monthly rent and hand over keys, instead of specifying an actual earlier date, say within a week of the date the contract is signed.
The APT doesnt actually specify the notice properly. All it says is
“Ending the Tenancy
The Tenant may end the tenancy by giving not less than two months’ written notice to the Landlord. The notice must end on a Rent Payment Day or the day before a Rent Payment Day.”
ie specifies the default RRA position ‘may’ be what is done, but doesnt actually make clear what notice is actually required. Under RRA it cant be more that the 2months plus the days to end a day before a rent payment day. So this clause basically restates the default in the RRA is possible, but doesnt give the LL any choice on what notice is actually required by the LL. It could be a LL wants to specify a month, for example, in line with what somebody already on a periodic tenancy would have had before 1 may 2026.
best
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I think that’s quite clear. Its not saying they must or should,. but they ‘may’ end the tenancy agreement if they wish. There is no rule that says a tenant must end a tenancy agreement, so ‘may’ seems an appropriate word to me, and if they choose to end the tenancy agreement it clearly states what they must do ie
All seems very clear.
That said, this has absolutely nothing to do with the OP question, and is well off on a tangent, so let it rest.
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This is what we have done. Relist, dont advertise, send them the link to apply. End current tenancy, return deposit.
Start new tenancy and skip referencing, in our case we chose £0 deposit as we trust them and it’s a bit pointless as in our experience it covers very little and you struggle to get anything back for damages.
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Start all over again. I would redo all the credit checks.
definitely redo right to rent check and AML checks as it’s a new contract for a new apartment . The data you hold will expire in six years on the old apartment.
The last three tenants I didn’t redo checks on had all accumulated credit issues in between renewals and I evicted all of them for arrears.
It’s a new contract and a new law. There is no s21 anymore ….
I agree that for anyone causing serious damage the deposit wont cover it. What it does tho is encourage the other good tenants to kerp good care are clean before they move out. So its like insurance - you never want to need to use it but get it anyway
Best
And serve the gsr and eicr for the new tenancy/ new property…