Rent the property for a friend

[Anuchaudhary]

Hi,

My friend was made bankrupt 3 years back. He is living with me at the moment but wants to rent a property closer to work. Due to bankruptcy history, agents have asked for 12 months rent in advance which is 15k and he cannot effort a single payment.

I want to help him but do not have so much money myself. Can I rent the property from the agents on my name and allow my friend to live there? Is this allowed? Will there be an issue if agents find out?

[jpkeates]

You would need to ask the agents.
Probably not would be my guess.

[Anuchaudhary]

Thanks for the reply. Do you mean this is not allowed? Also, if there any other he could rent a property in the right way?

[jpkeates]

The bankruptcy makes renting very difficult.
I would probably say no, for example.
Renting somewhere for £1250 pcm just isn't likely to happen very easily unless you find a soft hearted landlord/agent - you could offer 6 months in advance if that's doable.
You can try offering a high deposit and a short term lease, so if your friend falls into arrears they can evict more easily, but why would they say yes?

It is allowed to sub let properties, but it's more complex than a straight rent and I wouldn't do it myself.

Once someone has been overcome by debt once, it's difficult to argue it can't happen again (regardless of the actual cause).

[theartfullodger]

Try offering to be joint tenants, both fully liable.

Very noble of you:

[ram]

Can I rent the property from the agents on my name and allow my friend to live there? Is this allowed? Will there be an issue if agents find out?

You are not allowed to sub-let, and when the agents find out, you and anyone else in the property will be evicted, with you having to pay all the court fees.

If as suggested you go for joint tenants, then both of you have to be credit checked, and your friend will fail on that score.

If it was possible for you to pay the rent and only you had the tenancy and only your friend lived there, and he did not pay you back, so that you could not pay the rent to the agent, it's you that goes to court, not your friend.

1) Does he pay you rent at the moment, and if not, why not.
2) Can he afford a deposit of one months rent and one months rent in advance ?
If the answer is no to both ( rent and deposit ) he has to save up.

His BEST bet is to be someones lodger, as often there are no credit checks.

We assume he is working and able to pay

I have been very lucky in my life, as family has always been able to lend me money when needed, but for those who are not so fortunate, it's difficult, and only by saving, no mobile phones costs, no takeaways, can we save for what we need.

Rent of £ 1250 a month is stupid.
I can rent 2 Houses for that, here and my rent for a whole house, drive garage 2 beds, superb wel maintained property is less than half your friends anticipated costs.

His problem.
You are not his mother, bank or mentor

Such are the trials of life, unfortunately.

[Snorkerz]

If you rent the property in your name, then whether you can sub-let it depends on the tenancy agreement you sign with the landlord or his/her agent. YOU would be liable for rent to the landlord (even if friend doesn't pay you), YOU would not have an "Assured Shorthold Tenancy", which means (amongst other things), the landlord would not have to protect "your" deposit. Add to this, you will become your friends landlord, with all the legal obligations that go with that (including tax - but you shouldn't lose out to HMRC in £s terms). One of the main obligations is with regard to your tenants deposit - he would have an AST with you, so you would need to protect it properly, or face major consequences. If the friendship goes sour, then evicting a tenant is much harder than chucking out a lodger - and takes much longer too. If your landlord evicts you - can you be sure of evicting your tenant in time - or will you face a court case for breach of contract?

For clarity

Landlord = your landlord and your friends "superior landlord"
You = landlords tenant and friends landlord
friend = your tenant and landlords sub-tenant.

Contract between you and friend - AST
Contract between you and landlord = contractual tenancy (aka "bare" tenancy") not governed by the same laws.