One for the legal eagles. My client is tenant in property jointly owned by 3 people. He has power of attorney for one of the joint owners. HB section say they generally will accept a tenancy agreement signed by one joint owner on behalf of them all. Can my client therefore sign a tenancy agreement as tenant and on behalf of all the landlords?

In principle yes, but I think it would be unwise. As attorney, she has a duty to act at all times in the best interests of the donor and not to derive a personal benefit from the donors estate. In signing the tenancy agreement as the attorney she is granting herself the benefit of a tenancy and so is opening herself up to a whole can of worms. She would also be facing an increased possibility that the LA will view the tenancy as non comercial or even a contrivance. Much safer to have all the freeholders sign.

Why create potential difficulties by signing as the owner? Why doesn't one of the other owners just sign?

Quite agree with the above... There is significant room for arguing a conflict of interests in both HB (how can you set the rent for yourself, if acting as landlord you set it so high for yourself that you struggle to pay it?), and in land law (how can you evict yourself, when acting as landlord for repairs etc.)...

Unless of course you can say more about the power of attorney, and/or how it is exercised in conjunction with the other co-owners???

What sort of power of attorney is it? A general power of attorney is not legally valid for matters in which the principal is a trustee. As land which is jointly owned is in law invariably held on trust for all the owners, only a special trustee power of attorney can be used in those circumstances.

In any event the conflict between landlord and tenant in this case is such that it would be wrong for the the landlord's attorney to act in any matter in which he is also a tenant. The other owners would almost certainly have the right to have any such transaction set aside if they so wished.

Brian - if its in the Wansbeck area please dont let the tenant sign it otherwise it will come to me to investigate !!!!!!