https://legalbeagles.info/forums/ Tenancy, Mortgage, Conveyancing, Planning and Possession. Council Tax. en Sun, 19 Jul 2026 15:00:12 GMT vBulletin 60 images/themes/legalbeagles/misc/rss.png https://legalbeagles.info/forums/ https://legalbeagles.info/forums/forum/legal-forums/housing-property-and-neighbours/1720739-tenant-threatening-arson-on-our-signed-sept-tenancy-%C2%96-agent-says-nothing-can-be-done Thu, 16 Jul 2026 14:18:52 GMT
Looking for a sanity check on what our options are, because the letting agent's position doesn't seem right to me.

Situation:

- Student HMO in England, 6 joint tenants on a single agreement, joint and several liability, individual guarantors.
- The agreement was signed by all parties in April 2026 and commences 1 September 2026. It's drafted as a 11-month fixed term AST, but as I understand it, since it commences after 1 May 2026 the Renters' Rights Act means it takes effect as an assured periodic tenancy with no fixed term.
- Deposit will be held in a custodial scheme.
- One of the six tenants (also on the current tenancy, which ends in a few weeks) has severely mistreated the property: room full of rotting food, stacked plates, bin bags of decomposing waste, despite a previous warning from the landlord. More seriously, he has made threats to commit arson against the property. We are documenting incidents.
- The other five tenants want him off the September agreement. The landlord also wants him gone. We have a replacement tenant lined up who already lives in the house and is ready to sign.
- The letting agent has told the landlord that because the contract is signed, nothing can be done, and the tenant in question will not agree to come off voluntarily.

The best the landlord has offered is: we all move in on 1 September, immediately serve 2 months' notice to end the whole tenancy, and then sign a fresh agreement without him from ~1 November.

Questions:

1. Is it actually true that a signed agreement which hasn't commenced can't be varied or replaced? If the landlord and 5 of 6 tenants agree, is there no mechanism (deed of surrender and re-grant, variation, etc.) that works without the sixth tenant's consent?
2. Since the tenancy will be periodic from day one under the RRA, can one joint tenant's notice to quit end the tenancy for all – and can notice validly be served before or at commencement so it expires as early as possible?
3. Do documented threats of arson and property mistreatment give the landlord realistic grounds (antisocial behaviour / deterioration of the property) to seek possession against him quickly and can possession be sought against one joint tenant, or only the tenancy as a whole?
4. Is the landlord's "move in, serve notice, re-sign in November" plan sound, or does it expose the five of us to risk (e.g. the landlord choosing not to re-let to us, or the problem tenant refusing to leave after the notice expires)?


Any pointers appreciated – it seems very odd that in a situation where the landlord and five of six tenants are aligned, and the sixth is refusing to leave having threatened arson, the answer is "nothing can be done".]]> Housing, Property and Neighbours tile22 https://legalbeagles.info/forums/forum/legal-forums/housing-property-and-neighbours/1720739-tenant-threatening-arson-on-our-signed-sept-tenancy-%C2%96-agent-says-nothing-can-be-done https://legalbeagles.info/forums/forum/legal-forums/housing-property-and-neighbours/1720709-gifting-property-to-tenant Wed, 15 Jul 2026 10:01:44 GMT My husband and I rent a house to a friend at a reduced rent. We told them that when we start receiving our state pension we will give them the house.... ]]> Housing, Property and Neighbours 37eeyore https://legalbeagles.info/forums/forum/legal-forums/housing-property-and-neighbours/1720709-gifting-property-to-tenant