Joint Tenancy Guide: Understanding Joint and Several Liability

Joint and several liability is a fundamental legal concept that every landlord must master, particularly in the post-Renters’ Rights Act landscape.

It means that when you let a property to a group of people on a single agreement, each tenant is individually responsible for the full rent and any damages, not just their “share”.

 For example, if one housemate fails to pay, you have the legal right to pursue the others for the total shortfall. In an era of rolling periodic tenancies, this protection is your most effective tool for maintaining a stable rental income.

In this guide, we explain how joint and several liability works under the current Assured Periodic Tenancy (APT) framework and how to manage any risks that may come up.

1. What is a joint tenancy?
2. What is joint and several liability?
3. The role of guarantors in 2026
4. Ending a joint tenancy
5. Recovering rent arrears in joint tenancies

What is a joint tenancy?

In England, as of 1st May 2026, the Assured Shorthold Tenancy has been replaced by the Assured Periodic Tenancy. A joint tenancy occurs when this agreement is granted to two or more people whose names all appear on the contract.

For a joint tenancy to exist, four conditions, called the unities, must be met: time, possession, interest, and title. In practice, this means all tenants:

• sign the same agreement, 
• have the same interest in the same  property at the same  time, 
• have equal rights to live in the whole property, 
• and share the same rights and responsibilities under the agreement

You can usually only have up to four tenants on a joint tenancy. If more are added, the extra tenants don’t have the same legal standing under the agreement.

What is joint and several liability?

Joint and several liability is a legal arrangement that combines aspects of both joint and individual responsibility among tenants. 

Under this arrangement, tenants make a shared promise to pay the full rent, but each tenant can also be held accountable for the entire amount.

For example, if a flat is let to two tenants with a total rent of £1,500, either tenant can be required to pay the full £1,500. If one tenant fails to pay, the landlord can pursue either, or both, for the full sum. 

This makes joint and several liability one of the strongest protections for landlords, ensuring flexibility to recover rent even if one tenant defaults.

As is standard in joint tenancies, OpenRent’s tenancy agreements include joint and several liability clauses covering both tenants and their guarantor as standard.

---

You might also be interested in…

• What is Rent Arrears? Tips to Protect Your Rental Income as a Landlord
• All You Need to Know About Gas Safety Checks and Certificates
• How to Calculate Pro Rata Rent
• How to Vet Tenants with Pre-Viewing Questions
• Free Assured Periodic Tenancy Agreement (APT Rental Contract)

---

The role of guarantors in 2026

Now that upfront payments are limited to one month by law, guarantors can be useful when you need an added layer of financial security, alongside other services such as rent guarantee and iron-clad tenant referencing.

When you have a joint tenancy, any guarantor provided is also jointly and severally liable. This means if you have a group of four students, and one guarantor, usually a parent, is “supporting” their child, that guarantor is technically liable for the entire group’s rent arrears, not just their child’s portion.

Can I limit a guarantor to just one tenant?

Legally, no, not within a single joint agreement. If you want a guarantor to be responsible for only one person, you must use separate room-by-room tenancies. In this setup, each tenant has their own contract and is only responsible for their own rent. Mixing joint liability with limited guarantor liability is not legally enforceable.

On OpenRent, this setup saves Rent Now landlords from extra costs and removes any confusion around trying to mix joint and several liability with limited liability, which isn’t legally possible. 

Ending a joint tenancy

Now that fixed-term contracts have been abolished, every tenancy runs on a rolling periodic basis from the start. That changes how joint tenancies come to an end.

1. One tenant has the power to end the whole agreement

In a periodic joint tenancy, any one tenant can end the tenancy for everyone else by serving a valid notice to quit.

• The tenant must give at least 2 months’ notice in writing.
• When that notice expires, the entire tenancy ends for all tenants. You don’t need the consent of the other tenants for this to happen.

If one tenant serves notice to leave but the others wish to stay, the original tenancy is still legally terminated. To keep the remaining residents, you will need to sign a brand-new Assured Periodic Tenancy agreement with the new group configuration.

2. Ending a tenancy by serving a Section 8 notice

With Section 21 abolished, the only legal route you can use to regain possession of your property is a Section 8 notice. You must set out a valid legal ground when you serve it. 

This could include reasons such as selling the property, moving back in, or a breach of the tenancy agreement, for example, where rent arrears have built up.

3. Ending the tenancy via mutual agreement

An assured periodic tenancy can be ended at any time by mutual agreement, often called a “surrender”. This voluntary, written agreement between you and the tenants sets a specific end date, avoiding the need for formal notice periods or court involvement.

Recovering rent arrears in joint tenancies

When tenants fall behind on rent, you have options to recover what’s owed. In joint tenancies, you can pursue the full rent from any of the tenants or guarantors named on the agreement, giving you flexibility if one tenant can’t pay. 

For example, take a flat let to Chris and Lena for £1,500 per month. They agree to pay £750 each. If Chris pays his share but Lena falls behind, you can demand the full £1,500 from either Chris, Lena, both or their guarantor, if there is one.

You can only pursue tenants and guarantors named on the agreement, so friends, family, or other occupants who aren’t on the tenancy cannot be held responsible for unpaid rent.

Using a Section 8 

If arrears persist, the official route is via the Section 8 process.

In 2026, the threshold for mandatory possession is 3 months (or 13 weeks) of arrears (Ground 8).

Because almost every Section 8 case now requires a court hearing, you must have a clear, consolidated rent ledger showing the total debt for the property, rather than individual “pots” for each tenant.

You can always rely on our smart rent collection tool to know that rent is being paid or is being chased. It keeps a clear record of payments and reminders, which helps you stay on top of arrears, if they ever occur.

Practical implications for court proceedings

If tenants fall behind on rent, you can take legal action against one tenant, all tenants, or the guarantor. Often, landlords go after the non-defaulting tenant or the guarantor if the tenant who hasn’t paid has no money, moved out without leaving a forwarding address, or gone abroad.

Keeping it simple helps avoid long, expensive court cases, and guarantors are usually more willing to pay to avoid going to court. However, if you’re trying to take possession of the property, all tenants on the agreement must be included.

If you take action against just one tenant or guarantor, that person can ask the court to include the others. This can make the case longer, with tenants trying to blame each other.

Moreover, there is a new “Universal Credit delay” defence. Judges now have the power to stay a possession claim if the arrears are solely due to a delay in benefit payments. 

In a joint tenancy, if only one tenant is waiting for benefits, the judge may look at whether the other tenants (who are jointly liable) could have covered the shortfall in the meantime.

---