Whose responsibility is it to find a replacement tenant when one leaves early?

In England and Wales, the default practical answer is usually the outgoing tenant finds the proposed replacement and the landlord decides whether to accept them. Scotland is different: a private residential tenant can end the tenancy on notice without finding anyone to take over.

Whose responsibility is it to find a replacement tenant?

For assured shorthold tenancies, Housing Act 1988 disapplies the 1927 Act's unreasonable-refusal protection — no law forces a landlord to accept a replacement tenant; it's the tenant's practical job, not an enforceable right. The key statutory line is Housing Act 1988 s.15(2): “Section 19 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 … shall not apply”, so the usual rule that consent to assignment is “not to be unreasonably withheld” does not save an assured tenant who wants to force a change of tenant. In England and Wales, industry practice is that the landlord may allow early surrender if the tenant has found a suitable replacement, but the landlord still decides whether that person is acceptable. Wales is contract-led: a transfer needs the landlord’s signature only if the occupation contract requires landlord consent. Scotland flips the answer because a private residential tenancy can be ended by the tenant on 28 days’ notice if there is no valid agreement for another date. Northern Ireland bars assignment for protected or statutory tenancies, but that is a legacy class rather than the ordinary modern private letting position.

What is a replacement tenant clause?

The widely-quoted £50 fee is not a hard cap — a tribunal rejected a flat £50 charge once actual costs were shown lower — and a replacement tenant clause is the tenancy term that lets an outgoing tenant seek early release by providing an approved substitute tenant. In England and Wales, the Tenant Fees Act wording makes the permitted payment the greater of £50 or the landlord’s reasonable costs, not an automatic £50 charge; the statutory wording includes “£50, or”, and the Peel Place tribunal said: “A set fee of £50 for re-issuing the contract is not acceptable.” A typical replacement tenant clause says the tenant remains liable until “a replacement tenant has been found who can take over the tenancy until the expiry date of the Tenancy.” In Scotland, the fee position flips: charging a premium or administration fee connected with continuance or assignation of a private residential tenancy is a criminal-offence regime, so the English £50 language should not be copied north of the border. Abodient can hold the tenancy document and lease records against the letting period, which matters because the clause wording decides whether replacement, consent and costs are part of the deal.

Last reviewed August 2026.

Sources

• Housing Act 1988 s.15 — “(2)Section 19 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 (consents to assign not to be unreasonably withheld etc.) shall not apply to a term which is implied into an assured tenancy by subsection (1) above.” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 s.19 — “(a)to a proviso to the effect that such licence or consent is not to be unreasonably withheld, but this proviso does not preclude the right of the landlord to require payment of a reasonable sum in respect of any legal or other expenses incurred in connection with such licence or consent; and” Source
• National Residential Landlords Association — “The landlord may allow the tenant to leave early if they have found a suitable replacement tenant and should reasonably consider any request, making the tenant aware of any associated early termination fees as well as their own set up fees for a new tenancy, which cannot be passed on to an out-going tenant.” Source
• Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 s.69 — “(3)If the contract requires the landlord's consent to the transfer, the transfer must also be signed or executed by the landlord.” Source
• Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 s.49 — “(ii)if there is no such valid agreement, 28 days after it begins.” Source
• Private Tenancies (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 art.59 — “(1) After the commencement of this Order, a protected tenancy or a statutory tenancy of a dwelling-house shall not be capable of being assigned, except in pursuance of an order made under any of the provisions mentioned in paragraph (2).” Source
• Law Insider replacement tenants clause — “The Replacement Tenants clause outlines the process and conditions under which a tenant may find another party to take over their lease obligations.” Source
• Law Insider replacement tenants clause — “(b) A replacement tenant has been found who can take over the tenancy until the expiry date of the Tenancy.” Source
• Tenant Fees Act 2019 Sch.1 para.6 — “(a)£50, or” Source
• First-tier Tribunal Property Chamber, 15 Peel Place decision — “A set fee of £50 for re-issuing the contract is not acceptable.” Source
• Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 s.20 — “(1)Sections 82, 83 and 86 to 90 of the Rent (Scotland) Act 1984 apply in relation to a private residential tenancy as they apply in relation to a tenancy of the kind to which those sections refer.” Source