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Should I have to pay estate agents for a guarantor?
vincentford118
Posts: 5 Forumite
Hi All,
I'm moving into my first rental house with my partner, we're both 25yr.
We have paid the estate agents £290 Admin fee, plus 2x £110 for 2 referencing checks (£510 in fees so far)
We've been told because my income is where the majority of the rent will come from, we will need to get a guarantor because I'm within my probation period, even though our joint income is about £35k annually.
In order to get a guarantor we've been told we need to pay another £120! Is the estate agents in their rights to do this?
Many thanks,
Vince
I'm moving into my first rental house with my partner, we're both 25yr.
We have paid the estate agents £290 Admin fee, plus 2x £110 for 2 referencing checks (£510 in fees so far)
We've been told because my income is where the majority of the rent will come from, we will need to get a guarantor because I'm within my probation period, even though our joint income is about £35k annually.
In order to get a guarantor we've been told we need to pay another £120! Is the estate agents in their rights to do this?
Many thanks,
Vince
0
Comments
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Yes, because it requires them to do further credit checks and documentation. Which doubtless costs less than £120, but then that's how they make their profit. Expect further fees for check-in, inventory, etc.
PS: since you have named the agent, it's perhaps not a good idea to use your real name as your MSE username...No free lunch, and no free laptop
0 -
The referecing fees are very high - however a guarantor will need to be credit checked, and if you need a guarantor to rent you have no choice.
If you do not agree to a guarantor you won't be able to rent the property.
For future reference when looking for places to rent, try Openrent no fees apart from 20 for each person referenced.0 -
vincentford118 wrote: »Hi All,
I'm moving into my first rental house with my partner, we're both 25yr.
We have paid the estate agents £290 Admin fee, plus 2x £110 for 2 referencing checks (£510 in fees so far)
We've been told because my income is where the majority of the rent will come from, we will need to get a guarantor because I'm within my probation period, even though our joint income is about £35k annually. - How can they know you are in a probation period? or how you will split the rent?
In order to get a guarantor we've been told we need to pay another £120! Is the estate agents in their rights to do this? - Yes
Many thanks,
Vince
Do you have a guarantor?0 -
Yes, of course you should, this is one of the few occasions when I think reasonable fees are justifiable.0
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I wasn't charged fees for my guarantor. I paid £96 in referencing fees for 2 of us for a place in Wales. That's all I pay for fees too.
Could you offer to pay a few months up front then go monthly?0 -
Legally? Yes
You're not obligated to pay for a guarantor but they LL/LA isn't required to accept you as a tenant. If you want to rent the property though, you'll have to come to an agreement and sounds like the LL/LA will only agree if they are paid the guarantor fee.
Fairly? Yes
To get the protection of a guarantor, the LL/La needs to perform many of the same affordability and reference checks on the guarantor as a tenant
and get an extra deed of guarantee drafted, signed and witnessed. This does come at a cost over and above that expected for a tenant who didn't need a guarantor. I think the reasonable cost of this should be bourne by the tenant as this is an extra cost due to their situation. Otherwise it wouldn't make sense to even consider tenants with lower incomes who need a guarantor.0
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