Does boyfriend have to go on tenancy?

[Inapickle72]

I'm looking to rent a flat soon with my long-term boyfriend. There's a few issues, however:

I'm a higher earner, so was planning to pay the rent myself with him paying all the bills. Will look at doing it 50:50 or a more even split once he's got a job where I'm moving. I'll still substantially reduce my outgoings compared to now by having him pay the bills.
He has a temp full time job currently, but it's quite a commute from where we'd be moving, so my idea was find a place, I move in, he moves in in a few weeks once he can find a job there. He does have a smaller income from being self-employed too.

Do I have to have him on the tenancy when I move in? The one agency I've spoken to so far has indicated he would have to be even if he's not liable for the rent. He'd also needed references, but he's lived with a family member for a few years, rather than renting privately, so that might be tricky.

The issue is it seems by declaring him as a sub-tenant before he even moves in, I'd potentially prevent myself from being able to rent anywhere, but if I don't declare him I'm not sure if this would count as illegal subletting.

I've also read that if you're the main tenant on the contract you usually have the right to have a partner live there.

But there's lots of conflicting advice, so I'm really not sure! Does anyone know from experience or otherwise?

He has to be on the tenancy if he lives there, so that he's bound by the obligations and also the rights (quiet enjoyment, etc).

It's because you could decide to leave and he might refuse and the landlord will effectively have a squatter. That sort of thing. Also safety and overuse in some cases, not here tho.

I'm a super-relaxed landlord but have had people take the piss (11 people in one 2-bed flat, so dangerous and overcrowded), so take a very dim view of subletting.

No. I always have the tenancy in my own name so that if it doesn't work out it's still my home.
My husband isn't even on my current tenancy. I moved in years before I even met him and just haven't bothered to change anything. He is on the joint bills but the tenancy is just in my name.

This was another thing I was considering. We haven't lived together before &, since I'm paying the rent, I would want to be able to stay there if it didn't work out. He has family local that he could go & live with again, whereas I don't. The deposit would also be mine from my previous property.

How did this work in theory though - did you tell the LL/agency someone was moving in but you didn't want them on the tenancy?

Also, appreciate the other piece of advice from the LL above. I don't think there's any way he'd squat, but I appreciate the need for protection there.

You will need him as a permitted occupant but he shouldn’t need to be on the tenancy, no. I

Our house is just in my name at the moment - we were living abroad and DC and I came back earlier than DH. When he moved back to U.K. we just had an addendum to the contract to say he was permitted to live here but the tenancy has stayed in my name only. My landlady is lovely and knew our situation so was happy to do it this way rather than draw up a new contract and pay for references etc for DH

No I didn't tell my landlord anything. The tenancy states that I can live here with my immediate family. I've been here 6 years, husband has been here for 2 years. Landlord is very hands off and isn't bothered as long as the house is in good repair and the rent is paid.
The only thing I got explicit permission for was the dog.

My ex was a high earner and we had a similar arrangement. I went on the tenancy but we explained when we signed it that he would be paying the rent (in case the landlord was curious how our split was going to be). He just paid the rent the whole time and I paid the bills.