Who can sign a tenancy agreement for joint landlords or a limited company?

In England and Wales, the practical answer depends on whether the landlord is several individuals or a company, and whether the tenancy is a simple contract or a deed. The safest signature block names the legal landlord and states the signer’s capacity, especially where a director, co-owner or agent is signing for someone else.

Can one landlord sign a tenancy agreement on behalf of the others?

One joint landlord can sign a tenancy agreement on behalf of the other landlords in England and Wales if they have authority to do so, but there is no UK statute that specifically says one joint landlord may sign for the rest; the point rests on common-law agency rather than a tenancy-signing rule. The clean drafting is to name all landlords if they are all intended to be parties, then have one sign “for and on behalf of” the others, or have written authority kept with the tenancy papers. Practice guidance supports the simpler market approach too: Landlord Law says, “Where a property is jointly owned, it is legally permissible for one co-owner to be named as the landlord in the tenancy agreement.” That is useful practice guidance, not a statutory rule. The risk is not usually that the tenant escapes the tenancy; it is that the co-owners later argue about whether the signing landlord had express or implied authority.

Who can sign a tenancy agreement on behalf of a limited company?

No director is required to sign a standard tenancy agreement for a limited company in England, Wales or Northern Ireland: anyone with the company’s express or implied authority can sign it under Companies Act 2006 section 43. The statutory wording is that a contract may be made “on behalf of a company, by a person acting under its authority, express or implied.” Most short residential tenancies are simple contracts rather than deeds, because the Law of Property Act 1925 preserves leases “taking effect in possession for a term not exceeding three years” at the best rent reasonably obtainable. If the lease must be executed as a deed, such as a lease over three years, Companies Act section 44 allows execution “by a director of the company in the presence of a witness who attests the signature.” In Scotland, Companies Act section 48 is different: a company document is effective if signed, subscribed or electronically authenticated by or on behalf of the company under the Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act 1995.

Should you sign the tenancy agreement personally or as the company, and does it make a difference?

If the rental property is owned by a limited company, the tenancy agreement should be signed by or on behalf of the company, not personally as landlord, because the company is the legal landlord and the signature wording affects both authority and personal liability. In England and Wales, the Land Registration Act 2002 gives an owner’s power to “the registered proprietor,” so a person who signs as if they personally own a company-owned property may not be the right grantor. The signature block should say the company name and then, for example, “signed by [name] for and on behalf of [Company Ltd]” or “as agent for [Company Ltd].” The personal-liability point is real: the House of Lords said a signature “as agent” is a deliberate expression of intention “to exclude any personal liability on the part of the signatory.” Tax and finance are separate decisions, but the market is moving toward company ownership: Paragon reported that limited companies accounted for 43% of mortgaged buy-to-let purchases in 2025.

Last reviewed August 2026.

Sources

• Companies Act 2006 s.43(1)(b) — “(b)on behalf of a company, by a person acting under its authority, express or implied.” Source
• Law of Property Act 1925 s.54(2) — “(2)Nothing in the foregoing provisions of this Part of this Act shall affect the creation by parol of leases taking effect in possession for a term not exceeding three years (whether or not the lessee is given power to extend the term) at the best rent which can be reasonably obtained without taking a fine.” Source
• Companies Act 2006 s.44(2)(b) — “(b)by a director of the company in the presence of a witness who attests the signature.” Source
• Companies Act 2006 s.48(3) — “a document signed or subscribed(or, in the case of an electronic document, authenticated) by or on behalf of the company in accordance with the provisions of the Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act 1995 (c. 7) has effect as if so executed.” Source
• Land Registration Act 2002 s.24(a) — “(a)the registered proprietor, or” Source
• Universal Steam Navigation Co v McKelvie [1923] AC 492 — “It is, as Lord Justice Bankes said, to the interest of the commercial community that a signature "as agent" should have a generally accepted meaning, and I agree with him that such a qualification of the signature should be taken as a deliberate expression of intention to exclude any personal liability on the part of the signatory.” Source
• Landlord Law Blog — “Where a property is jointly owned, it is legally permissible for one co-owner to be named as the landlord in the tenancy agreement.” Source
• Paragon Bank — “Limited companies accounted for 43% of mortgaged buy-to-let house purchases during the year, up from 35% in 2024.” Source