Tenant Swap in a Shared House: File the Named-Tenant Change Without Crossing Out a Name

One named housemate is leaving, and the file is a group chat. Save the leaver's request as received, ask the remaining tenants in writing whether they stay and can pay, then write one route: a new tenancy with the stayers plus any replacement. Match the deposit, bind the incoming person to a dated check-in, and diary keys. Do not cross a name off the old PDF.

Saturday. Lila's 4-bed in Brighton. The group WhatsApp says “Tom's moving out, Sam's friend can take the room”. She replies “ok”. On Monday a name is crossed off last year's PDF and a spare key goes out. The risk is November: the scheme still lists Tom, and nobody signed a check-in.

The problem is that nobody asked the remaining tenants in writing, or picked a route. Shelter, last updated 1 May 2026: the landlord cannot just take someone's name off the agreement. A joint tenant who moves out without ending the tenancy is still a tenant; the replacement on a chat yes is often a lodger. Typical mistake: treating Saturday's “ok” as the swap.

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

How do you take the outgoing request and the remaining-tenant yes in writing?

Save the leaver's message as received, with headers or a timestamp, not a paraphrase. Ask the remaining tenants in writing whether they stay and can pay. All joint tenants and the landlord need to agree a replacement. A chat yes is a lead, not the named-tenant change.

Do file the WhatsApp or email as it landed. Shelter on joint tenancies is plain: a joint tenancy is one agreement with more than one named tenant, and everyone on those names plus you must agree a replacement. Shelter Legal (1 May 2026): liability is joint and several — you can pursue one person for all the rent. If they cannot cover Tom's share, write that down before keys go out.

In practice, Lila should have saved the Saturday thread and emailed the other three: do you stay, and can you pay without Tom? Do write that yes or no. If the message is already a notice that would end the whole tenancy, log it on the tenant notice intake card. Pressure to hand keys tonight is not a reason to skip that yes.

Which route do you write on paper when one named tenant leaves?

Write one dated line: a new tenancy naming the people who remain plus any replacement. Shelter, last updated 1 May 2026, says it is often best to end the original and sign a new agreement. GOV.UK for landlords tells you the same if some tenants want to stay. Archive the old PDF. Do not cross a name off it.

Do write the live names on a new agreement, not a scribble. From 1 May 2026 most private assured shorthold tenancies became periodic — rolling, with no fixed end date. Independent Landlord (19 July 2026): landlords cannot just scribble out a joint tenant's name. The leaver can still owe arrears from the old agreement.

If you already use a scheme tenant-transfer, keep the consent and the deed you already have, then tell the scheme. Do not start from a blank deed this Saturday. Clip last year's PDF into the tenancy agreement folder without editing it. If the incoming person is only a guest with no tenancy rights, use the permitted occupier permission letter instead.

What happens to the deposit when the names on the house change?

The deposit follows the route you wrote. A new tenancy means the old protection was for the old names. Repay the leaver's share or take a written waiver, collect the new deposit, protect it within 30 days, and serve prescribed information — the scheme notice of how the deposit is protected — on every named tenant.

Do file the scheme confirmation for the new names. Housing Act 2004 s.213 and GOV.UK tenancy deposit protection both run a 30-day clock from the day you receive the deposit. Name the Deposit Protection Service, mydeposits or the Tenancy Deposit Scheme. NRLA, citing TDS (26 February 2024, still live): end the old registration, protect the new deposit, serve new prescribed information. Keep the reference on the deposit scheme reference file and the send on the prescribed information form.

If you already use a scheme tenant-transfer, notify the scheme, update the names, and reissue prescribed information. The deposit cap is five weeks' rent if annual rent is under £50,000, or six weeks at £50,000+, on the whole joint rent.

How do you bind the incoming person to a dated check-in?

Either run a new check-in report, or get a signed statement that they have seen and agree to be bound by the original inventory dated [date]. Show them that old report before they sign. If they will not agree, do not hand keys on a chat.

Do write the date and the yes. mydeposits on tenant swaps: for example, a signed line that they have seen last year's check-in and are bound by that dated report. The rooms walk lives on the check-in inventory.

Do not take rent from the incoming person until they are named on the live agreement. Without that, the leaver is still a tenant and the incoming person may be a lodger. An incoming adult using the house as their only or main home needs a Right to Rent check — record that it was done. Do not back-date a crossed-out PDF.

Where do keys, the guarantor and the swap tab live?

Count the leaver's keys back against the existing key schedule and issue the incoming set on the same list, with the date. A guarantee for the old tenancy does not cover a new one. Clip request, remaining-tenant yes, route, deposit confirmation, check-in date, keys and guarantor on one tab labelled swap-YYYY-MM-DD.

Do file the key count on the list you already keep. Open the keys and fobs handover file and write Tom's set back in, then the incoming set out. An old guarantee does not follow a new agreement. If you still need one, use the guarantor paperwork file.

Do file the clip in the tenancy folder, labelled swap-YYYY-MM-DD. Success bar: Saturday opens one tab — written request, remaining-tenant yes, dated new-tenancy line, scheme confirmation, check-in date, keys and guarantor. Verify that checklist. Workflow: request → remaining-tenant yes → one route → deposit confirmation → dated check-in → keys. An IziRento workspace can hold the request, remaining-tenant yes and new agreement on that lease.