Hello! My husband has been living with his friend for 4 years now (they own the place), no tenancy agreement, he just pays them 340 every month. If we acquire a tenancy agreement from w h smith, do we need to have it certified by a solicitor? (we were told that it'll take several days since it will be submitted to the inland revenue first then to another agency) and do u happen to know how long it'll take to have the land title released (the one downloaded online from the land registry site)? Please advice! thank you
I read this thread: http://www.british-filipino.com/showthread.php?4398-accommodation&highlight=tenancy+agreement But I have no idea what a sublease agreement is or if it's applicable to our case. I'm lost. PLEASE HELP
In your case it seems that your husband lies somewhere between a tenant renting accomodation and being classed as a "lodger". I'm not a legal expert, but there is a legal difference between tenants and lodgers. Lodgers do not have such strong legal rights on tenancy. To be fair your husband would be better informed if he had a brief consultation with a legal advisor specialising in this. As far as I know if the landlord is actually living in the same property, and it's his/her principle home then usually a lodgers agreement is used. Here's what UKBA state:- The reason I suggest seeking legal advice is that it may well be better if your Husbands friend(s) become co-sponsors effectively much like family members and do not have a formal tenancy agreement. I wish I could be more helpful, but this case is out of my experience, and visa applications are just too serious to start second-guessing. Anyway, neither lodger agreements nor tenancy agreements need to have inputs from either a solicitor or from HMRC. It's enough to download the correct one from the internet or buy one from W H Smiths and fill it out as a contract between landlord and tenant.
Okay! I was just worried about the certification part because they said it'll take days! So I guess it's safe to download a lodgers agreement from w h smith (i just checked it now and yes, that's what suits us) and other than that, ask our friend to provide a copy of their land title as to show that they indeed own the place plus a letter from them that they are willing to accommodate me. I hope I'm right? THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!!!!!
That's it. Your husbands friend needs to show he is the owner, he also needs to make a signed statement that you have full permission to reside there. May I also strongly suggest you include some photos and a brief description of the property and the bedroom you will use. Better to have too much evidence than too little. Best of luck with your application. Hope you submit and pay the application before end of play on July 8th
Thank you, dear sir. You have no idea how light this made me feel. Thank you very much for taking the time to outline my options. I really, really appreciate it. I'll be lodging my application this Friday, June 29. God bless your good soul.
Please make sure that your husband's friend is ok with other people knowing that he has a lodger. He may not be declaring it as income!
I assume the existing arrangement your husband falls under the HMRC Rent-a-Room scheme for shared accommodation with has no security of tenure? At £340/month this is well within the £4,250/year tax concession limit under the Rent-a-room scheme, available to your husband's friend. This would mean your husband is a lodger and NOT a tenant. It would certainly be better for your husband to enter a formal lease arrangement (in order to obtain security of tenure) but your husband's friend would not then benefit from the tax concession available under the Rent-Room scheme as your husband would then be a tenant (NOT a lodger). If your husband did become a tenant, your husband's friend would probably require an increase in rent to cover an almost certain increase in Income Tax payable and for the added legal responsibilities he would have as a landlord. If a formal tenancy agreement is made then I think an entry would be made to this effect on Land Registry records but if your husband is to remain a lodger (presumably under the Rent-a-Room scheme) albeit with a written contract with your husband's friend, no entry would appear on land registry records.
