Do I have to tell my landlord if someone moves in with me (UK)?

In this brief guide, we are going to answer the question “do I have to tell my landlord if someone moves in with me? (UK)  “

Do I have to tell my landlord if someone moves in with me?(UK) 

You will have to tell your landlord if someone moves in with you in your UK property but not telling the landlord may not necessarily mean you have done something to break your tenancy agreement but may put you in a position where the landlord is not happy with your actions and may seek to evict you after your tenancy has come to an end or evict you before your tenancy has come to an end under grounds 12 of section 8 of the 1988 Housing Act but it is unlikely a judge will agree to this. 

A more likely approach as mentioned above is that your landlord may seek to evict you under section 21 of the 1988 Housing act if they are unhappy you have moved someone into your UK property.

Usually, most shorthold tenancy agreements insist that anyone who is living in the property must be in the tenancy agreement and sign the tenancy agreement except they are underage and don’t have to sign the agreement but may still be needed to be on the tenancy agreement.

If you move someone into your UK property and then begin to sublet your property then you may be in breach of your assured shorthold tenancy agreement,

Another important factor here is what your tenancy agreement explicitly states.  If your tenancy agreement states that the tenancy is a ‘single occupancy’ then the landlord may be within its right to evict you as you are the one who has broken the tenancy agreement.

If the tenancy agreement does not state clearly the number of people allowed to live at the property then it will be much harder for your landlord to evict you on this basis but of course, they can evict you once your tenancy comes to an end.

Do you have to tell your landlord if someone moves in?

Your landlord may require you to tell them if someone moves in as it may be a requirement to have anyone who lives in the property on the tenancy agreement.

The landlord may have the right to evict anyone who moves in without their approval.

Do all tenants have to be on the lease?

Usually, all tenants will have to be n the lease and are expected to sign the lease. The only exception is for tenants who are underage. They will be expected to be on the list but there will be no requirement that they sign the lease as they are underage.

Can a landlord prohibit guests?

Your landlord will not be able to prohibit guests to come into your home but they may be able to evict guests who are not on the lease agreement but are living in the property or who have broken the lease agreement.

How long can a tenant have a guest UK?

In most cases, once a guest has stayed in your home for more than 2 weeks in any 6 week period they could be considered a tenant rather than a guest and you may need to add them to your tenancy agreement.

Your landlord cannot force you to add anyone to the tenancy agreement but if you do not want to add them to the tenancy agreement then they will have to move out.

In this brief guide, we answered the question “do I have to tell my landlord if someone moves in with me? (UK) “. If you have any questions or comments please let us know.

If you need financial advice and you live in the UK then you could contact the Money Advice service over the phone or via chat for impartial advice.

You can also contact the debt charity “Step Change” if you are in debt and need help.