How can I do this on OpenRent? Is it legal?
The Companies Act 2006 S43(1)(b) allows individuals to sign on behalf of a company:
Alternatively, Section 44 of that Act allows the company itself to sign. However, this requires a second authorised signature or an independent witness, so for digital contract signing it will often be easier for an authorised individual to sign on behalf of the company.
Whichever route is taken, the following is important:
- Each signatory must have the authority to bind the company; usually the Directors and anyone they authorise (expressly or implicitly) would have this authority.
- The company's name on the contract must be exactly the same as its registered name.
- The signatory and their relationship to the company must be completely clear on the contract.
Our usual suggested workaround is to have the individual who will be living in the property as a tenant, and then to add the company as guarantor. This provides you with financial security (we can reference the company if you wish) while retaining the legal status of the AST.
Our Rent Now process is designed to create ASTs, and as such have individuals as tenants, so if having a company as tenant is a firm requirement we'd recommend you take legal advice to understand the full implications of this.
Check out this blog post on Company Lets for more information.