Tenant swaps are set to become a more common pressure point for landlords under the Renters’ Rights Act, with deposit protection provider mydeposits warning that weak paperwork could store up costly disputes in shared houses and other joint tenancies.
mydeposits warns incoming tenants must be tied to the original inventory
In new guidance for landlords and tenants, mydeposits said a tenant swap happens when one or more tenants leave and new tenants join during an ongoing tenancy. The issue is especially common in HMOs, flatshares and student lets, where occupancy changes more often.
Under the old pattern of fixed terms, a landlord had a natural break point to carry out a check-out, agree any deposit deductions and complete a fresh check-in. With periodic tenancies now the default, that clean reset is less likely to happen unless a landlord actively creates one.
mydeposits said that if no new inspection is carried out, landlords should make sure incoming tenants are clearly bound to the original inventory and check-in report, including the date of that report, and that the new tenant has received and agreed to it in writing.
Periodic tenancies raise the risk of deposit disputes
For landlords, this is one of the quieter operational changes flowing from the Renters’ Rights Act. It will not grab headlines like Section 21 or rent challenge rules, but it can still cost money. If an incoming tenant later disputes damage, cleaning or missing items at the end of the tenancy, the whole argument may turn on whether the original check-in evidence was properly adopted.
That is particularly important in shared housing, where joint and several liability can blur responsibility unless the paperwork is explicit. Landlords who wave through replacement tenants without updating agreements, side letters or deeds of assignment may find themselves with weaker evidence when a dispute reaches adjudication.
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s coverage of the new assured tenancy forms now required from 1 May and its earlier warning that rent-in-advance deals now depend heavily on precise wording. Together, those changes show how quickly the system has shifted from old AST routines to a more process-heavy regime. Tenant swaps are another example of the admin detail landlords can no longer treat casually.
There is also a wider HMO angle. In practice, some landlords prefer not to order a full inventory every time one sharer leaves because it adds cost and can slow down re-letting. That may still be workable, but only if the replacement paperwork is tight. A cheaper process that cannot be defended later may end up being the more expensive option.
Landlords handling student and young professional sharers should pay close attention here. These tenancies tend to have the highest churn and the highest chance that one occupier joins without fully understanding what condition evidence already exists. That is the point where later adjudication rows begin.
What this means for landlords
- If you’re managing HMOs or flatshares: decide whether each tenant swap will trigger a fresh inventory or a formal written adoption of the original one.
- Watch for: deeds of assignment or amended tenancy agreements that fail to state clearly which check-in report governs the property condition.
- Bottom line: the tenancy may continue without a break, but your evidence trail should not be left to guesswork.
Editor’s view
This is exactly the kind of unglamorous detail that catches landlords out after a legal change. The rules around tenant swaps are manageable, but only if the paperwork is treated as part of the asset, not an afterthought.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 06 May 2026
Sources: mydeposits
Related reading: Government publishes section 8 and rent forms for landlords
