If you plan to share with others, you may be asked to sign the same agreement and become joint tenants. This means each tenant can be held responsible in full on all the terms of the agreement. The landlord can claim the full monthly rent from any of you - they are not bound by any arrangement you have made to each pay a contribution. And if one tenant leaves, the rest will still have to pay the monthly rent between them.
A joint arrangement also means that if one tenant breaks the terms of the agreement by causing damage, the landlord can again claim against any one tenant for that loss, or retain some of the deposit at the end of the letting. If you end up paying more than your share, or losing your part of the deposit because of another's breakages, you can claim that amount from that person - if you can find them and if they will pay up. If court proceedings are necessary, these may be expensive.
If one joint tenant leaves, the rest will almost certainly need the landlord's consent to bring in another person to share. If you do this without consent, the landlord might well be able to obtain possession of the property.
Alternatively, you may be asked to sign a separate agreement each, promising to pay a specified amount of the rent. If one of the tenant leaves, your liability doesn't change - but it is up to the landlord to find a replacement tenant. You might want quickly to find a replacement who is acceptable to the landlord.
In the case of breakage or damage, although each occupier has signed a separate agreement, it will be impossible in practice for the landlord to know which of the occupiers actually caused the damage. Usually the agreement will allow the landlord to hold any tenant liable for any damage, no matter who caused it.
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