A simple tenancy agreement

[ajandjjmum]

DD has recently taken on a 12 month lease in London, with DH and I as guarantors.

The letting agents knew - as did the landlord - that she would need to find a 'flatmate', and fortunately she has now found someone who seems great, and would like to move in next week.

Are we best to issue a simple agreement which the flatmate (who intends to be around for just six months) should sign, which refers to the lease DD has signed, or is it necessary for them to become a full joint tenant through the letting agents - which is what I suspect the agents would prefer?

I want to keep it as simple as possible - be really grateful for any advice.

It's better if the flatmate becomes a joint tenant. Otherwise your DD would be effectively sub-letting.

There are two ways of sorting out a tenancy where two people are involved. One way is for the tenants to be jointly responsible for the entire rent, which means when the flatmate moves out in 6 months your DD will have to pay all the rent or find a new flatmate. The alternative is that they each have a tenancy agreement and are responsible for their part of the rent. The downside of this is that the landlord can put another tenant in when the flatmate leaves. Student houses tend to be done this way.