One of us wants to leave a joint tenancy, what happens?

This is a complex and potentially serious area of law. Where two or more people hold a joint periodic tenancy and one serves notice to quit on the landlord, that notice is effective to end the tenancy for all joint tenants — even those who wish to remain. This rule was confirmed by the Supreme Court in Monk v Hillside Estates [1992] and applies to assured shorthold tenancies.

The remaining tenant or tenants cannot prevent the departing joint tenant from ending the tenancy in this way. Once the tenancy ends, the landlord is under no legal obligation to grant a new tenancy to the remaining occupants — though in practice many landlords will do so.

If you are a remaining joint tenant: (1) speak to the landlord immediately and ask whether they will grant a new tenancy to the remaining occupants; (2) do not leave voluntarily without exploring your options, as this could affect your entitlement to council rehousing assistance; (3) seek advice from Citizens Advice or a housing solicitor about your position.

If you are the departing joint tenant: be aware that serving notice on a joint tenancy has serious consequences for your co-tenants. You cannot simply transfer your share to someone else without the landlord's agreement.

During a fixed term, one joint tenant generally cannot unilaterally end the tenancy (unless the agreement allows it). The problem arises at the periodic stage.

If you are all named on an existing fixed-term agreement that is still running, you should all communicate with the landlord as a group and seek to agree a new arrangement before the fixed term expires.