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JGM
JGM, Solicitor
Category: Scots Law
Satisfied Customers: 12193
Experience:  30 years as a practising solicitor.
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I have supplied my tenant a lease which was handled by my agent.

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i have supplied my tenant a lease which was handled by my agent. He has signed my name on my behalf since i was outwith the country. the thing is he signed my name and not his own with a pp below. i gave him permission to handle the lease. the tenant has produced this lease as proof she has a right to stay in my proerty so i presume accepts the lease. the question is can i run into any problems as it wasn't myself who signed it but i gave permission for it to be signed on my behalf ?
JGM
Thank you for your question.
Unless the agent held power of attorney for you, he should not have signed your name. To fix this all you have to do is sign the lease now and issue the tenant with a copy. I presume you or the agent have a copy of the lease with the original tenant's signature and the rogue signature on it. All you have to do is sign that yourself now to ratify the contract.
I hope this helps. Please leave a positive response so that I am credited for my time.
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Customer: replied 2 years ago.

i'm afraid i don't have the original copy of the lease, only have a photocopy
In that case leave it as it is although as a matter of good practice your agent should have had 2 original leases signed, one for you and one for the tenant.
As your tenant is in occupation and is paying rent she would be personally barred from ignoring the terms of the lease. And in any event she won't know the signature is wrong. If she wants to stay beyond the initial term, make sure a new lease is signed as opposed to letting the old one continue.
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Customer: replied 2 years ago.

She actually does know the signature is wrong as she knows both me and my agent personally. she handed it to housing benefit shortly after and also supplied it to court to prove that she has a right of occupancy.

Does this mean she has accepted it as legally binding ?

and if not what is the worst case scenario for myself when I'm trying to evict her for £15K in rent arrears ?
She would be personally barred from challenging the validity of the lease as she has accepted occupation. There should be no problems in trying to evict her. She won't be able to argue there is no lease where she has relied on the lease.
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Customer: replied 2 years ago.

i was outwith the country when this new lease was implemented.

A person not named on the lease, supposedly moved out, which i wasn't aware of, and i wrote him a letter demanding that at least i required my mortgage was paid, ( less than the rent amount)

this person has no right to stay in my property and he is claiming housing benefit from another address.

can this letter be used in court in any way to imply the rent was reduced ?

Not for a new tenant, no.
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