Joint tenancies cause confusion and conflict in student housing - claim

Joint tenancies, a common form of rental agreement for student housing, are causing problems for both landlords and tenants, according to a housing expert.

Martin Blakey, a former chief executive of the student housing charity Unipol, says joint tenancies are difficult to set up and maintain, and can lead to disputes and evictions.

Under the Renters (Reform) Bill, student landlords will no longer be allowed to offer fixed-term tenancies that match university term times.

He says: "A joint tenancy requires each occupier to have the same interest in the property and to take the tenancy at the same time.

"This is hard to achieve and sustain, especially when someone wants to leave mid-tenancy.

"There is a lot of room for disagreement about whether a joint tenancy exists or not."

Make the tenants jointly and individually liable

In an article for the HEPI think tank, Mr Blakey added that even if a tenancy is not a joint tenancy in the legal sense, it may still make the tenants jointly and individually liable for the rent.

This means that each tenant is responsible for the whole rent, not just their share.

He said: "Students may not realise that they are paying a single rent for the entire dwelling, not just their room and a part of the shared facilities.

"This can create problems if someone fails to pay or leaves without notice."

Allow student landlords to evict a whole household

Mr Blakey also pointed out that most joint tenancies do not meet the legal criteria to allow student landlords to evict a whole household on the same grounds in one legal process.

This can complicate matters for landlords who want to remove one or more tenants, but not all of them.

He said: "Sounds complicated? It is! Unless landlords and student tenants have clear and accessible rights and obligations, few will comply.

"Disputes will emerge, and disputes are never productive."

The joint tenancy approach for student housing

He questioned the government's decision to adopt the joint tenancy approach for student housing, saying that it was based on a flawed assumption.

Mr Blakey explains: "The government says that joint tenancies enable landlords to evict households of full-time students only, as a single group.

"They are avoiding the situation where a landlord may want to evict some tenants, but not all of them.

"But the government's view is that most students living in HMOs (houses in multiple occupation) will do so under joint tenancies. This is not true."

Providers have been switching to individual contracts

He explained that while joint contracts are still prevalent in the private sector, many providers have been switching to individual contracts in recent years.

And there is now a significant minority of students who rent on individual contracts, which make them liable only for their own room and a portion of the shared areas.

Mr Blakey also noted that individual contracts are the norm in purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA), where joint contracts are rarely used, except for family accommodation.

A possible solution for student housing

He suggests that a possible solution for student housing is to have fixed-term contracts, which could be limited to HMOs if necessary.

Mr Blakey said that fixed-term contracts are more suited to the academic cycle, and that landlords and tenants could still agree on periodic tenancies if they prefer.

"The fact that so few landlords and student tenants agree on a contractual periodic tenancy, and so few student tenants become statutory periodic tenants, speaks for itself.

"The periodic tenancy is not suited to maintaining the academic cycle.

"Fixed-term contracts would be a better option for student housing."

'Confusion and worry for student landlords'

Simon Thompson, the managing director of Accommodation for Students, said: "The Renters (Reform) Bill is causing confusion and worry for student landlords.

"Many student landlords will not agree on the abolition of fixed-term tenancies - a system that has worked well for years.

"And moving to a periodic tenancy will make it harder for a student landlord to get their property back for a new intake of student tenants.!

He added: "But there is an interesting idea in that joint tenancies don't work effectively either and providers have been moving to individual contracts.

"We may see more of this happening."