How to Record Written Permission for an Additional Occupier

The extra adult is already in the spare room, and the only yes is a WhatsApp or a verbal that’s fine. When someone later asks who lives here and whether you agreed, there is no dated letter. Take a written request, write occupier not tenant on the file, issue a short permission letter signed by landlord, named tenant and occupier, and clip it to the current AST.

Saturday. Ivy’s one let in Southampton. The named tenant WhatsApps “my partner’s moving in Monday — that’s ok yeah?”. She replies “fine”. The risk is November: the named tenant has gone; the partner is still on the sofa; rent leaves the original account for two weeks then stops. There is no letter saying the partner was a permitted occupier, not a tenant, and must leave when the named tenant left.

There is no official UK permitted occupier form. OpenRent’s landlord forum (thread accessed September 2026): write a letter that they may allow named person X to live as a permitted occupier for no longer than the tenancy or their own occupation. Landlords Portal still advises a short letter signed by the tenant, the occupier and the landlord. Typical mistake: treating last Saturday’s “fine” as that letter.

Disclaimer: IziRento is operations software, not legal advice. Local tenancy rules vary; check a qualified adviser for binding decisions.

How do you capture the written request?

The request is the extra person’s full name, their relationship to the named tenant, the proposed or actual move-in date, and the property address. Save the email or export the WhatsApp as a PDF. A verbal “yeah fine” is not the file. If they already moved in, still take this request now.

Do get those four fields in writing before you issue permission. Do not pretend last month’s chat was the letter. For example, Ivy’s WhatsApp can be the request if it names who is moving in, when, and the relationship — save the thread. The Landlord Association (17 June 2026): obtain written consent before any new occupier resides. Date the letter from today; record the actual move-in date as a fact, not as back-dated consent.

Occupier or named tenant — which choice do you write down?

Write the choice on the same sitting. An occupier letter means they are not a party, they will not pay you rent, and the named tenant stays solely liable. Adding a named tenant means a deed of variation or a fresh agreement, with joint and several liability. If they will pay you rent, they are not an occupier here.

Tenancy Agreement Service (reviewed 3 August 2026) sets those two options out cleanly. NRLA (updated 15 October 2025): occupiers are not part of the agreement, so they are not expected to pay the rent, utilities or deposit. Typical mistake: thinking an adult child turning 18 means you must reissue the whole AST.

Count heads before you sign. GOV.UK: a home is an HMO if at least three people live there forming more than one household and they share a toilet, bathroom or kitchen. A partner or family member in the same household is usually not a new HMO. Children count as people. If the extra person would create a second household at three or more people sharing facilities, pause and check the council before you sign.

What to put in the short permission letter?

There is no official form, so the letter has to carry the facts. State the occupier’s full name, the property and the original tenancy date, that they are a permitted occupier not a tenant and not a party, and that occupation hangs on the named tenant remaining in occupation.

Add these fields on the same page. Do not turn the letter into a second contract with the occupier.

• Named tenant remains fully responsible for rent, condition, and the occupier’s behaviour.
• All rent is paid by or to the named tenant only.
• The occupier leaves when the tenancy ends or the named tenant leaves.
• Date permission starts, and the actual move-in date if that is different.

The Barristers Inc (20 December 2025): that written record is evidence you did not intend to create a tenancy. Do not enter a separate written agreement with the occupier, and do not give them their own keys-and-rent deal.

How do you file the signed letter with the AST?

Landlord, named tenant and occupier all sign and date the same letter. An unsigned email from you is not the file. Clip the signed PDF to the current AST — an assured shorthold tenancy, the written agreement for this letting — in that tenancy’s folder. Name it occupier-permission-YYYY-MM-DD.pdf and keep the written request in the same clip.

Alan Boswell (2 June 2026): an addendum attaches to the existing agreement; both sides sign and date; you do not have to rewrite the whole AST for a minor change. File this letter next to the occupancy clause in the tenancy agreement folder. Do not overwrite the AST. If the tenant asked for the change, a fee is capped at £50 or reasonable costs under the Tenant Fees Act 2019 Schedule 1; if you asked, charge nothing.

In England, adults aged 18 and over who will use the property as their only or main home still need a Right to Rent check even if they are not named on the agreement — GOV.UK. Record that the check was done.

Why does taking rent from the occupier break the file?

Do not take rent from the occupier, even after the named tenant has gone. The Barristers Inc (20 December 2025): accepting rent from them is a risk of creating a tenancy. Hiscox (22 September 2025): occupiers are not required to pay rent to the landlord. All rent stays with the named tenant. Log who paid on the rent schedule.

If the named tenant leaves, the letter should already say occupation ends when the tenancy ends or the named tenant leaves. Independent Landlord (19 July 2026): staying after a break-up is a new tenancy in their own name after this one ends — not this permission letter. Do not put the person left behind on a standing order.

If the insurer asks, tell them the extra adult’s name. Success bar: Saturday opens one clip — written request, occupier-not-tenant choice, signed letter, three signatures, PDF next to the current AST. Workflow: written request → occupier versus named tenant → short letter → three signatures → clip to the AST → stop. Verify that checklist, then stop. An IziRento workspace can hold the request PDF and the signed letter next to that lease.