Undertenants

An undertenant is a residential tenant who rents from your tenant (the mesne tenant or mesne landlord), rather than directly from you as superior landlord. In a simple chain – superior landlord → mesne tenant → undertenant – you may never deal with the undertenant day to day, but they still live in your building under a private tenancy.

In most cases, the undertenant will have an assured tenancy in the Private Rented Sector (PRS), with full rights on rental standards, fit for human habitation, permitted payments, tenancy deposit protection, possession grounds and access to the Private Rented Sector Ombudsman. Councils and tribunals can look up the chain if there are serious breaches, so you and the mesne landlord may both face scrutiny, especially around licensing, for example an HMO licence, safety and overcrowding.

Your own lease or tenancy agreement with the mesne tenant will usually say whether subletting to subtenants or undertenants is allowed, and on what terms. If they create undertenancies in breach of covenant, you may have grounds for regaining possession from the mesne tenant, but you must still handle any end of tenancy and move to vacant possession lawfully, as undertenants can sometimes gain limited protection against you as superior landlord.

Also see our landlord blog articles.