Joint Owner tenancy agreements

[RayLondon]

I have a property that i own jointly with my brother. My brother is abroad at the moment and i need to rent the property.
Can someone please advice me whether it would be ok for only me to sign the tenancy agreement as the landlord or whether both owners must sign the tenancy agreement for it to be valid.

I would appreciate any input.

Thanks

[Bel]

It's neater if you both sign, but as long as you have your brothers agreement it should be ok. The tenant will have a valid tenancy.

If your brother is likely to get amnesia and blame you if things went wrong, get him to sign too.

Agents sometimes sign for their clients, but its not a good idea as they may share LL liabilities if things go wrong.

[RayLondon]

Thanks for the quick reply Bel.

My brother is ok with just me signing but i was a little concerned suppose if things went wrong and went to court, how credible would the tenancy agreement be since only one owner would sign it.

[Bel]

You do not need a written agreement to create a tenancy.

You need to ask a lawyer about problems in court. But I don't think its an issue as long as you, your brother and the tenant agree that there is a tenancy. The tenant agrees because they sign and take possession. You agree because you have discussedit together and one of you , who is the agent for the brother also, signs and you both take rent.

Technically, you should have power of attorney to sign for your brother, as should an agent. I dont think it actually happens very often in practice. But that is so you are covered as far as your brother goes...if he decides to sue you for taking liberties against his will

Wait and see what the other members say or ask a lawyer if you are not sure.

[jeffrey]

At least ask brother to let you have his written authority (hard copy) for you to let on behalf of you both.