Deed of Assignment

When the composition of tenants changes due to one leaving or a new one being added, a new tenancy agreement should be completed with the updated names.

A deed of assignment is not suitable for such changes in tenant composition, so we do not provide one.

Deeds of assignment are typically used for commercial tenancies. For example, consider a lease with a 15-year term. After five years, the tenant may wish to sell their business and assign the remaining ten years to a new tenant who purchases the business. In this case, a deed of assignment transfers the remaining tenancy term (subject to the lease terms). It’s important to note that the whole tenancy term is being assigned, not just a part of it, with no existing tenants remaining.

A deed of assignment is usually not appropriate for an assured shorthold tenancy of six to 12 months. Instead, a new tenancy agreement is required. In exceptional circumstances, it might be possible to assign an assured shorthold tenancy—such as a three-year tenancy with only one year elapsed. However, such cases are so rare that we do not provide deeds of assignment. Even if needed, creating a new tenancy is a much simpler way to achieve the same goal.

You can create a new tenancy using Tenancy Builder: https://docs.landlordsguild.com.