help - landlord guarantor query

Frankandann

We have been asked to stand as guarantor for someone renting a house. No problem there. However we have been handed a form to fill in by the landlord which requests a £60 administration fee, various documents reference to identity etc but more worryingly our bank details.. The other things are a pain but obviously necessary. However I am reluctant to give my bank details to a third party especially when the transaction is not directly with me. My question quite simply is . Where do I stand legally if I refuse or put another way 'can they legally ask for them ?

Sonofa

Absolutely no experience of this so please treat anything I say as "Man in the street opinion"

I would say they have your details and know where you are IF it comes down to it; asking for your bank details strikes me as over stepping the mark at this point.

Acting as a guarantor is serious business and not to be entered into lightly, but I don't think they can simply switch to taking from your bank account if they don't get it from the tenant, which this would seem to suggest?

I would politely refuse this level of detail.

PasturesNew

When you put yourself up as a guarantor you are guaranteeing that the rent will be paid. Not just this month, or this 6-month AST duration, but for the entire duration of the tenant living there - PLUS - any further costs they may incur/not cover.

e.g. if the tenant moved in and stayed there 2 years then trashed the place, never paid a penny of rent beyond the first month up front, it's YOUR bill.

Sonofa

PasturesNew wrote: »

When you put yourself up as a guarantor you are guaranteeing that the rent will be paid. Not just this month, or this 6-month AST duration, but for the entire duration of the tenant living there - PLUS - any further costs they may incur/not cover.

e.g. if the tenant moved in and stayed there 2 years then trashed the place, never paid a penny of rent beyond the first month up front, it's YOUR bill.

Maybe I'm missing something here, but that's not what's being asked. He asked is it normal/right to be asked for his bank details.

I say no.

GonzoAston

Sonofa wrote: »

Maybe I'm missing something here, but that's not what's being asked. He asked is it normal/right to be asked for his bank details.

I say no.

It is right to be asked for bank details so the agency or landlord can take payment without messing about.

It is quite normal. My sister asked me to do it, I said no for this reason, and glad I did. She hasnt paid it for 2 months.

Sonofa

GonzoAston wrote: »

It is right to be asked for bank details so the agency or landlord can take payment without messing about.

It is quite normal. My sister asked me to do it, I said no for this reason, and glad I did. She hasnt paid it for 2 months.

But were you accepted as a guarantor without supplying this information? That's the crux of the OP's post.

If you were, you have nothing to be glad about. If sis continues to not pay, you will become involved at some point.

GonzoAston

GonzoAston wrote: »

It is quite normal. My sister asked me to do it, I said no for this reason, and glad I did. She hasnt paid it for 2 months.

I didnt supply the information, but I was asked for it.

poppysarah

I suspect you don't understand what a guarantor is.
Go have half an hour with a solicitor for free - taking the paperwork with you.

It means you can be stung for thousands of pounds if the person doesn't pay the rent, trashes the place or just walks out the day after they sign the tenancy.
Unless you grow gold in your back garden I wouldn't consider it for anyone but the most trustworthy immediately family who have never let you don't ever before.

Robert_Sterling_3

Frankandann wrote: »

No problem there. However we have been handed a form to fill in by the landlord which requests a £60 administration fee, various documents reference to identity etc but more worryingly our bank details.

You do not have to to give your details etc and the landlord does not have to accept you as a guarantor.

It is a case or Deal or NO Deal?

poppysarah

Robert_Sterling wrote: »

You do not have to to give your details etc and the landlord does not have to accept you as a guarantor.

It is a case or Deal or NO Deal?

I don't think the OP realises why they want bank details.

Robert_Sterling_3

I agree