"Agents are used to working with a clear endpoint where responsibility is agreed and documented. Without that, the focus shifts to how those responsibilities are managed as tenants come and go"
- Tim Frome - mydeposits
The shift to periodic tenancies under the Renters' Rights Act is set to make tenant swaps a routine feature of tenancy management, bringing new operational challenges and dispute risks for letting agents and landlords, according to deposit protection provider mydeposits.
Of the 4.7 million households renting privately in the UK, a significant proportion live in shared housing, including houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) and flatshare arrangements, where changes in occupancy are already more frequent.
As fixed-term agreements fall away, mydeposits warns that tenant swaps, where one or more tenants leave and are replaced while the tenancy continues, will become a standard part of day-to-day portfolio management.
The end of natural break points
Under the current system, fixed-term tenancies provide a clear endpoint: a check-out, an agreed assessment of property condition, and a fresh check-in for whoever is moving in. Those natural break points disappear under the new periodic model, requiring agents to manage occupancy changes within tenancies that continue indefinitely.
"The removal of fixed terms changes the rhythm of tenancy management," said Tim Frome, head of government schemes at mydeposits (pictured).
"Agents are used to working with a clear endpoint where responsibility is agreed and documented. Without that, the focus shifts to how those responsibilities are managed as tenants come and go."
Each tenant swap now presents a key decision. Agents can either treat the change as a full reset, carrying out a check-out for the outgoing tenant and a new check-in for the incoming one, or continue working from the original inventory and tenancy documentation.
The first approach provides clarity but adds cost and administration. The second is more practical, but places far greater emphasis on ensuring incoming tenants are formally tied to the existing check-in report and understand the condition they are accepting.
Documentation and dispute risk
"It is not enough for a check-in report to exist," Frome added. "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."
In practice, that means maintaining a clear, dated record confirming that incoming tenants have been provided with, and have agreed to, the original check-in report.
mydeposits also anticipates a rise in disputes within shared households. Where tenants change but the tenancy runs on, disagreements can surface over when damage occurred and who is responsible. Without a defined endpoint, issues that might previously have been addressed at check-out are more likely to emerge mid-tenancy, and without clear evidence at each point of change, they can escalate quickly.
"Disputes are not always just between landlord and tenant," Frome continued. "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."
Preparing for the shift
mydeposits is urging agents to review their processes now, ensuring they can document tenant agreement to property condition at every point of occupancy change and communicate the implications clearly to landlords. Further guidance on managing deposit evidence and deductions in these scenarios is available at mydeposits' dedicated resource page.
"Tenant swaps will become a routine part of managing tenancies in a periodic system," Frome concluded. "Clear documentation and tenant agreement will be key to avoiding disputes and protecting both agents and landlords."
