Joint tenancies are one of the most common ways to let a property to more than one person, and one of the trickiest to manage when something changes, and one or more tenant wishes to leave or stops paying the rent.
To add to this, the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 has changed the rules regarding notices to quit generally, and joint tenancies in particular.
This blog post explains how joint tenancies work in England now that the tenancy reforms in the Renters’ Rights Act have been implemented.
Joint tenancies are one topic I cover in my bestselling book, The Good Landlord Handbook. It also goes through each stage of the tenancy cycle, with the rules in the Renters’ Rights Act fully integrated. If you have questions, you can ask me at twice-monthly livestreams in my membership, The Independent Landlord Hub.
>> Related Post: The rules for tenants to end a tenancy with a valid notice to quit
>> Related Post: What happens when one joint tenant wants to move out?
Joint tenancies at a glance
What is a joint tenancy?
A joint tenancy is a single tenancy agreement signed by two or more tenants, who together share the same rights and responsibilities for the property. Each tenant is named on the tenancy agreement, each signs it, and each becomes a tenant of the whole property rather than of a specific room or share of it.
It means they share the same responsibilities to pay the rent and look after the property as if they were one person.
Joint tenants usually choose a lead tenant to liaise with the landlord or letting agent. The lead tenant is named on the deposit certificate and is usually the point of contact for the landlord, but the lead tenant has no greater legal rights or responsibilities than the other joint tenants. All the tenants are equally responsible for the rent and the obligations under the tenancy agreement.
Joint tenancies are typically used for:
- couples renting together, married or not
- families renting a home together (nuclear, blended and extended)
- groups of sharers who know each other and want to take a property together, for instance a group of students or friends
There is no legal limit on the number of joint tenants. However, where three or more people from two or more households share a property, it is a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO).
Joint and several liability explained
Tenancy agreements will usually include a clause that spells out that joint tenants have “joint and several liability”.
This means that two joint tenants are each individually responsible (100%) and jointly responsible (50:50) for all of the obligations under the tenancy, including the rent.
Where there are three or more joint tenants, the same principle applies, and each tenant is individually liable for 100% of the rent.
The landlord can choose who they pursue for the rent. So if one tenant stops paying their share, the landlord can ask the other tenant(s) to pay the full amount.
What happens if one joint tenant doesn’t pay their share of rent?
If one joint tenant stops paying their share of the rent, the landlord can recover the rent arrears from any of the other joint tenants. They would then need to recover what they’re owed from the non-paying tenant themselves.
This is because joint tenants are jointly and severally liable for the rent, and the landlord can pursue any or all of the other joint tenants for the rent.
Notices to quit by joint tenants
It is a long-standing rule that if one joint tenant serves a notice to quit, it will bring the tenancy to an end for all of the joint tenants, even if the others wish to stay.
How to serve a notice to quit
Under section 20 of the Renters’ Rights Act, a tenant can end an assured periodic tenancy at any time by serving a notice to quit that gives at least two months’ notice, with the notice expiring at the end of a rent period. The notice period may be shorter if the landlord agrees, for instance in the tenancy agreement.
Section 21 RRA states that the landlord cannot insist on a particular format or method of delivery of a notice to quit (so long as it’s in writing).
This means that if the remaining tenants want to stay, the landlord will need to enter into a new tenancy agreement with them.
Can joint tenants withdraw a notice to quit?
Under section 21 RRA, a notice to quit can be withdrawn.
However, where there are joint tenants, all the joint tenants and the landlord need to agree for the notice given to be less than two months, or for the notice to be withdrawn.
>> Related Post: The rules for tenants to end a tenancy with a valid notice to quit
>> Related Post: What happens when one joint tenant wants to move out?
The Good Landlord Handbook
This blog post gives you an overview of the rules on joint tenancies.
For the full picture, read my book ‘The Good Landlord Handbook’:
🔹 #1 bestseller on Amazon
🔹 Covers every stage of a tenancy
🔹 Renters’ Rights Act integrated throughout
🔹 “A true landlording bible“
Joint tenancy versus room-only for HMOs
HMOs can be on either a joint tenancy basis, with all of the tenants on the same tenancy agreement for the whole property, or on a “room-only” basis whereby a tenant or a couple rent a room under separate tenancy agreements to the tenants who rent other rooms.
Room-only tenancies tend to be used where the tenants don’t know each other, moving in and out at different times. This means they are not jointly and severally liable for the rent of the other people who rent rooms in the house; they are just responsible for their own rent and any damage they cause to their room.
It also means that if one of the tenants serves a notice to quit, the tenancy of the other tenants won’t be affected, and will continue in force.
Guarantors for joint tenants
If a landlord requires a guarantor for a joint tenant, the guarantor is legally obliged to step in and pay the rent if the tenant doesn’t. If the guarantor doesn’t pay, the landlord can apply for a CCJ against both the tenant and the guarantor.
For joint tenancies, it is possible for a guarantor to restrict their liability to the portion of rent payable by the tenant whose rent they are guaranteeing.
This is called a “limited guarantee“, and means the guarantor is only liable for that tenant’s share of the rent, not the full amount
Hello Suzanne,
Thanks for your useful advice.
Quick question – a couple have a joint tenancy agreement. One of them moves out giving 2 month notice to the landlord. The remaining tenant wants to stay but as I understand it the tenancy agreement has come to an end.
Does the tenant who wishes to remain have a legal right to do so? Or do they have to sign a new tenancy agreement with the landlord which he or she could refuse?