When a lease is assigned to a new tenant it is usual for a Landlord to require the existing tenant to enter into an AGA. Under the terms of this agreement the current tenant guarantees that the new tenant will comply with the terms of the lease and pay the rent. Should the new tenant fail to pay the rent the landlord can pursue the former tenant in order to recoup the lost rent.
Because the AGA is an agreement which is subject to statutory regulation under the Landlord & Tenant Act 1995, a specific procedure must be followed in order for a Landlord to successfully recover sums from the former tenant. A failure to follow the legal procedure in pursuing a former tenant could have a number of serious legal implications.
As a rule of thumb, there are many intricate details to handling the recovery of unpaid arrears from a former tenant bound by an AGA and it is important that the process is followed correctly in order to avoid any risk of a tenant taking advantage of a mistake and to prevent a delay in attempted recovery.