Tenancy Agreement Help

[Harrison38784]

Hi all,

I am a new landlord and looking for some help with the AST.

I have created a tenancy agreement which is now ready for signing.

The tenancy agreement is due to start on the 1st July.

Can the tenancy agreement be signed before the move in date?

Also can the guarantor sign the agreement on a different date to the tenants?

The guarantor lives in a different city, so they’ve suggested I email the AST and they’ll post the signed AST back. I have completed the necessary checks on the guarantor. Would this be okay?

My template also includes a space for witness signatures.

Can a witness be related to the tenant?

Thank you in advance for your help.

[ash72]

You created the AST, or you got it from somewhere?

You can get the AST signed before someone moves in (how soon would they actually move in?) and when are you giving the keys?

You should have a Guarantor's specific agreement if your going down that route, these days they can sign it electronically, and they should get a copy of the tenancy agreement.

Witness should be independent, but in this case may not be necessary.

I would also make a list of the documents you need to give to the T and get them to sign it, confirming they have received them unless it's in your AST.

[theartfullodger]

Sounds like some education in how to be a landlord might be wise. When I started I thought I knew what I was doing. I didn't, expensive, stupid, mistakes! If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.

[CStevens]

Hi,

In answer to each question:

1. There is no reason why you cannot have the AST signed before. You would normally date it the date upon which the tenant takes up occupation but that's not necessary. You could date it once everyone has signed if they are happy;

2. There is no legal reason why the Guarantor has to sign the same copy. Perhaps have separate signature pages and attach them all to one AST once returned;

3. You don't actually need a witness to an AST for less than 3 years as it does not need to be executed as a deed. If you do want a witness, people think that it cannot be someone related to you but that is not true. The witness can be someone related to you but for evidential purposes you normally have someone not related to you - the thinking is your brother is more likely to lie for you than your neighbor!

I hope this helps, Charles

[jpkeates]

Hopefully, the guarantor agreement is a deed (and not part of the AST).

At witness can be anyone, but a connected witness is less than ideal, particularly for something being signed remotely.
The idea is for it to be as difficult as possible for someone to forge the “guarantor”s signature.