Change of tenant issues

Our Experts Answer:

There are two issues to cover on a change of tenant: the tenancy agreement and the bond. Firstly, the tenancy agreement can be varied either a replacement Tenancy Agreement or by a side agreement between the outgoing tenant, the incoming tenant and the landlord. A side agreement simply needs to say that the incoming person accepts all the previous tenant’s rights and responsibilities relating to the Tenancy Agreement , and that the previous tenant is released. The signatures of the landlord and previous tenant effectively annex this agreement as a variation to the existing Tenancy Agreement.

Secondly, the bond is treated in a similar way with a Change of Tenant form. However, it needs to be signed not only by the incoming and outgoing tenants, but also all remaining tenants who have an interest in the bond. The form can be downloaded from Tenancy Services’ website.

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