Tenant swaps will become more common under the Renters’ Rights Act, bringing new challenges and potential risks for letting agents and landlords, according to mydeposits.

As tenancies move to a periodic model, the deposit protection provider warns that tenant swaps - where one or more tenants leave and are replaced while the tenancy continues - will become a routine part of tenancy management.

Under the current system, fixed-term tenancies provide a clear break point, allowing for check-outs, agreement of property condition, and a fresh check-in for incoming tenants. However, as these natural endpoints fall away, landlords and agents will increasingly need to manage changes in occupancy within tenancies that continue indefinitely.

Reset

They can either treat each change as a reset, carrying out a full check-out for the outgoing tenant and a new check-in for the incoming one, or continue to rely on the original inventory and tenancy documentation. While the first approach provides clarity, it adds cost and administration, explains Tim Frome (pictured), head of government schemes at mydeposits. He says the second approach may be more practical, but it places far greater emphasis on ensuring incoming tenants are clearly tied to the existing check-in report and fully understand the condition they are accepting.

“It is not enough for a check-in report to exist. Incoming tenants must have access to it, understand it, and explicitly agree to it. Without that, there is a real risk that responsibility becomes blurred, which can lead to disputes further down the line” adds Frome.

Clear

This means ensuring there is a clear, documented record that incoming tenants have been provided with, and agree to, the original check-in report, including the date it was carried out.

mydeposits also expects a potential increase in disputes, particularly within shared households. Without a clear end point to the tenancy, issues that might previously have been addressed at check-out are more likely to surface during the tenancy. And without clear evidence at each point of change, these situations can escalate.

“In shared households, disagreements between tenants themselves are not uncommon. As tenant swaps become more frequent, so too does the likelihood of these situations arising, particularly if processes are not clearly followed,” says Frome.

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