Tenancy Agreement - advice please

[Lizzy1975]

Hi there, I have had a tenant renting a property from me for the last 3 years, the contract has expired so we are now on a 'rolling' contract ie statutory periodic tenancy (one month notice for him, two months for me).

He has advised that he wants to leave, but that his sister in law is interested in taking on the flat. Obviously this works for us both, but I wonder do I need a new tenancy agreement, or can I just give written confirmation that I agree to him subletting? In the original tenancy agreement it states sub-letting is allowed after three months.

Is there anything else I need? I will be asking for a copy of a most recent wage slip. I did ask an estate agent for advice, and they said they could sort everything out for me for £350 - am pretty sure I can do it myself!

Any advice welcome, thanks in advance.

I think life will be far less complicated if you give her her own contract.

Don't get into the complications of sub-letting. It's far more straightforward for everyone if you have a new contract.

You might want to do a credit check or may be happy seeing some pay slips. You'll also need to take a deposit and make sure it is put into a deposit protection scheme. That's a legal requirement so don't forget to do it.

New agreement after you've carried out reference and credit checks and had an inventory clerk prepare an inventory (at new tenants cost). Deposit with tds or with an approved scheme. Sublettibg would be messy especially with the deposit

Brilliant, thank you all for your advice. He told me verbally on 30 November that he'd like to give notice and for his sister-in-law to move in on 6 January. He usually pays the rent on the 26th of each month, so am I correct in thinking his last payment should be on 26th December, and she should begin paying on 26 January? I know it's usually a month in advance, but he paid a years rent in advance in the first year, and then monthly since then.

He has been a great tenant and looked after the flat so I want to be as flexible as possible - he is moving into his (soon-to-be) sister-in-laws place as it's larger and he has just proposed to his partner.