Renting Homes: The Final Report - Law Commission

PART 6
DEALING
INTRODUCTION
6.1 We have been very conscious of the need for our scheme to reflect the varieties
of ways in which people actually live their lives. It needs to recognise the realities
resulting from the formation and break down of relationships. A contract-holder
may want to bring a new person into the agreement. People may want
companionship, or someone to help pay the rent, so may want to share their
accommodation with others, or take in a lodger. People may want to move
around the country and exchange the premises where they currently live for
another. At the same time we accept that landlords must be able to retain a
sensible degree of control over the property they are letting.
6.2 Because periodic standard contracts can be ended on the landlord’s notice
ground, 1 private landlords retain a high degree of control. The situation is less
clear-cut for community landlords who rent on secure contracts. They must be
able to ensure that the people living in their accommodation have the requisite
degree of housing need. At the same time, contract-holders under secure
contracts must have an appropriate degree of autonomy in their use of the
accommodation.
6.3 This Part considers the extent to which contract-holders may “deal” with their
contracts. As with many other aspects of the scheme, these provisions build on
the current law which applies to the secure tenants of local authorities. We have
taken the opportunity to rationalise the law, and to clarify the powers of
community landlords to control the circumstances in which they will permit
dealing in social housing. There are therefore important amendments to the
current position noted in the discussion.
ADDING A CONTRACT-HOLDER TO THE CONTRACT 2
6.4 It is a fundamental term of all occupation contracts that a contract-holder may,
but only with the consent of the landlord, 3 add another person to the contract.
The person added becomes entitled to all the rights and subject to all the
obligations of the contract from the date they are added. 4
6.5 The addition of a contract-holder to the contract is of no effect unless:
(1) it is made in a written document 5 ; and
1 Discussed above, at paras 4.57 to 4.63.
2
Adding a contract-holder was discussed in Part 11 of Renting Homes (2003) Law Com No
284.
3 Provisions relating to landlord’s consent are discussed below, at paras 6.61 to 6.76.
4 Cl 108.
5
Cl 215(2). Cl 215(3) gives the appropriate authority power to prescribe a form for the
document.
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