Joint vs individual tenancies in an HMO: deposits, liability, possession

The choice is made once, usually without much thought, and it determines almost everything about how the property runs afterwards.

Joint tenancy — one agreement, one liability

All occupiers sign a single agreement for the whole property. They hold it together, and the crucial consequence is joint and several liability: each is liable for the whole rent, not their share.

One person stops paying and you can pursue any of the others for the shortfall. That is the model’s entire commercial advantage, and it is a real one.

• One deposit, protected once, with prescribed information served on each tenant.
• Turnover is the group’s problem. One person leaving means the rest cover it or find a replacement.
• Changing a tenant means a surrender and re-grant, or a deed of assignment. It is not a name swap, and getting it wrong can end the tenancy for everybody.
• Possession is against all of them together.

The natural fit: a group who arrived together and want the same end date. Students, friends taking a house.

Individual room tenancies — separate agreements

Each occupier has their own tenancy of their room, with shared use of the common parts. Each is liable only for their own rent.

• Arrears are yours. No one else covers a defaulter.
• Voids are per room, which smooths income but means you are always re-letting something.
• A deposit per tenancy, each protected separately with its own prescribed information. Five rooms means five protections and five sets of prescribed information — and the penalty for getting protection wrong is per tenancy.
• Possession is per room, so one problem occupier does not require you to displace the household.
• You control who moves in, rather than inheriting the group’s choice.

The natural fit: professional house-shares where people arrive and leave independently.

Both are HMOs

Worth stating plainly, because the belief that individual tenancies "avoid HMO status" persists. Section 254 keys on households sharing amenities, not on the paperwork. Five people on five agreements sharing a kitchen is exactly as much an HMO as five on one.

What the Renters' Rights Act changed — England

From 1 May 2026 every new tenancy in England is periodic from the start. Fixed terms and break clauses have no effect. That lands hardest on the joint model.

• The fixed academic year is gone. A joint student group can no longer be locked to a twelve-month term, and the compliance anchor that renewal used to provide has gone with it. See periodic by default.
• Notice periods are the tenant’s statutory ones. On a joint tenancy, notice by one joint tenant can end it for all — a long-standing rule that now bites more often without a fixed term to sit inside.
• Section 21 is gone, so possession runs on Section 8 grounds for both models.
• There is a possession ground aimed at student HMOs; whether it is available depends on the property and the group, so check it rather than assuming.

The practical effect is that individual tenancies have become relatively more attractive in England: if you cannot fix the term anyway, the joint model’s main advantage is narrowed to joint and several liability alone.

Wales is different

Wales has occupation contracts, not tenancies, and contract-holders, not tenants. Joint contract-holders can be added and removed more straightforwardly than under an English joint tenancy, which is a genuine practical advantage of the Welsh regime. And section 173 still exists there. Each contract-holder needs a written statement within 14 days. See the divergence map.

Choosing

Information tool, not legal advice.