Checking your contract
What type of house contract do I have?
I rent from a landlord/agent
In Leeds, most contracts are Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreements. They’re normally fixed term for 12 months, but can sometimes be negotiated to a shorter term. If you sign a fixed term (i.e. a fixed date range) you are liable to pay the rent for the full time, unless there is a specific clause in the contract allowing you to give notice to quit (this is rare).
Within this type of contract, you are a tenant and have exclusive possession of the property. The landlord/agent can access your place, but you should be given notice and they can only call in reasonable hours. The landlord can’t evict you from the property without getting a court order.
I’m living in a property but not paying rent directly to the landlord or agent
If you’re paying rent to another tenant who is currently living there or who signed the contract but has moved out, you are subletting. This is a tricky situation, especially if you have a problem. We can help you if you’ve got any concerns. Read up on subletting agreements here.
I’m living in university accommodation
You will have a fixed term agreement covering the full academic year. You can’t give notice to quit within the contract period, but there are other options out there for you, see the related articles below.
Residential and Commercial Services staff have access to the communal areas but shouldn’t enter your room unless they have given you written notice.
I'm living with the Owner, or another tenant who pays the landlord
You’ll either be a licensee (if the owner has unrestricted access to your room) or an excluded tenant (if you can lock your room). The length of the contract can depend. It’s sometimes possible to come to an agreement where both parties can agree to give notice to quit.
What is Joint Liability?
Joint liability is when you have a financial responsibility to cover any rent or damage payments that may be owed by your housemate - or they in turn may have to cover money that you owe. So if you or anyone else moves out early and owes rent, the landlord can chase the person who owes the money or can choose to collectively ask the household to pay.
You will have joint liability if you:
- Sign the same housing contract as your housemates at the same time and you are agreeing to take the property as a group.
However, you will not have joint liability if you move in later than everyone else (maybe as a replacement tenant) and/or your name is just added to the contract.
Joint liability also means that if someone moves out and wants a replacement tenant to move in, the rest of the household have a right to say whether they agree with the replacement tenant moving in. However, remember that if the household don’t agree, joint liability means the remaining tenants could end up paying towards any rent owed by the person moving out as this will put them in rent arrears.
Can I get my contract checked?
LUU Help and Support can answer any questions you have about your contract, but it is important that you read and understand it, so we encourage you to use this useful tool first.
This form will take some information about the property you’re looking at, and take you through the same questions we ask in a contract check. This will highlight anything you need to find out more about or seek advice on, and may give you the information you need to check your contract yourself.
Once you have answered the questions your answers will be sent to you via email and any specific issues will be flagged up in this email.
If there are some issues that have been flagged by the contract checking system that you would like to get checked, then you can visit LUU Advice and speak to an adviser in one of our drop-in sessions about your concerns.
Before you come in, have a good read through your contract and the results from the online form and if possible, please bring the results in with you, so an adviser can see which parts of your contract have been flagged.
If you have any other additional questions, it would be a good idea to note these down before the meeting too.
You can also talk to us about the property, whether you want to negotiate anything, if the rent is reasonable or what security it should have as well as checking the landlord out.
We’ll help to talk through what you're signing, so you can make an informed decision on whether you want to go for the property. But remember, it’s your decision and not one we can make for you.
What if my landlord says I need to sign now or the house will be taken by someone else?
You should always be allowed 24 hours to take the contract away to read before you sign, so be wary of any landlords that refuse, if they are putting pressure on you to sign it won’t be for your benefit. Be wary of any landlords asking you to pay a holding fee to take the contract away to read - chances are you will lose the money if you don’t sign up.