LEASE VARIATION CHECKLIST

Read the document to make sure it meets your needs and that you’ve provided all of the necessary information about the changes you’re making to your tenancy agreement. Ask a lawyer for advice if you have any questions.

Restrictions apply to how a tenancy agreement can be modified once it’s been made. It’s vital that all changes contained in your Lease Variation do not violate these restrictions, else the changes may not be valid and may even be illegal.

For example, any variations must usually:

• be agreed to by all parties

• not be unfair to the tenant

• not violate any laws (eg tenancy laws or consumer rights laws)

Read the FAQs for this document to better understand how to vary a tenancy agreement in a legally compliant manner. In particular, read the FAQ ‘ Am I allowed to change a tenancy agreement?’.

Your Lease Variation must include a version of the tenancy agreement that is being changed. You will choose how you’ll include a copy of the tenancy agreement when you make your Lease Variation. Make sure you follow the method you select. If you indicated that the text of the tenancy agreement will be:

• attached to the Lease Variation: physically attach a printed copy of the tenancy agreement to the Lease Variation before it is signed

• inserted into the Lease Variation: download your completed Lease Variation as a Word document or similar and insert (eg paste in) the text of the tenancy agreement under the heading ‘Schedule - Tenancy Agreement’. Do this before the Lease Variation is printed and signed

Do not add your variations directly into the text of the tenancy agreement. Your changes will be made when you create a Lease Variation that clearly identifies the variations you’re making and references the tenancy agreement.

This prevents confusion as to exactly which versions of the tenancy agreement have been in force at different times and helps ensure your changes are legally binding.

All parties to the Lease Variation must sign the Lease Variation to make it legally binding. You must sign your Lease Variation as a deed. 

A deed is a specific type of contract that must be executed (eg signed) in accordance with specific, more formal requirements in order to be legally binding.

To sign your Lease Variation, you should:

1. print a copy of the Lease Variation for each party

2. all parties should then sign each copy of the Lease Variation using one of the methods of signing a deed that’s available to that party (these will depend on the party’s legal structure). For example, a company may generally sign via one director signing in the presence of a witness or by 2 directors signing, with no witnesses necessary

3. each signature must usually be witnessed. A witness should: 

   1. not be another party to the deed

   2. be independent and unconnected with the parties (eg not a family member)

   3. be 18 years of age or older, and 

   4. be of sound mind

4. after watching a party sign the deed, that party’s witness should sign the deed and add their (ie the witness’) name, address, and occupation directly underneath the relevant party’s signature

It is usually possible for deeds to be signed electronically, but if this is done, extra care must be taken to ensure that all of the execution formalities for the particular type of deed are met. This deed is, therefore, designed to be signed by hand (ie wet signed) to ensure that it is correctly executed (eg witnessed).

For more information, read Execution of deeds.

A copy of your Lease Variation will be stored automatically in your Rocket Lawyer account ‘Dashboard’.

Each party should also securely store their copy of the Lease Variation that has been signed by all of the parties. Store the Lease Variation alongside the original tenancy agreement so that whenever the tenancy agreement is read it is read as varied by your Lease Variation.