Guarantor for Renting

Debt_Free_Chick

Tassotti wrote:

Most Landlords will issue an AST where both tenants are 'joint and severably liable' for the rent.

Which makes it all the more odd that one tenant needs a guarantor. If one fails to pay, then the other is liable.

However, will a Landlord insist on a joint tenancy? Why can't the AST be issued in the name of one only e.g. Glitterati's partner, who is working and appears to have no need for a guarantor.

Affordability definitely comes into it. Also, the affordability of the guarantor will be taken into account.

I think we're talking about different things. By affordability, I meant that Landlords do not look at the joint budget - just salary. Income, of course, is only part of the picture - it might prove you can afford the rent, but it doesn't prove you can afford the rent on top of all the other bills.

Regards

Bossyboots

Debt_Free_Chick wrote:

However, will a Landlord insist on a joint tenancy? Why can't the AST be issued in the name of one only e.g. Glitterati's partner, who is working and appears to have no need for a guarantor.

When my son was renting I said that I would only guarantee his share of the rent or all of it if it was a single tenancy. I was told by the estate agent that if his girlfriend was living in the property with him she HAD to be named on the tenancy.

mandy_s_2

This is really interesting. Me and my OH have been given notice by our landlord that he wants to sell up. We are placing a holding deposit tomorrow on a place we have found but we are really paranoid about the checks they do. We are renting privately at the mo and landlord never did any checks but the house we like is through a letting agent so they will do checks. Problem is my OH has just graduated and doesnt start new job teacher training until september. I earn pretty well but both of us have to be checked seperately and we are worried OH's check will not be too good. He's working part time though, do you think we will need a guarantor?

Tassotti

Debt_Free_Chick wrote:

Which makes it all the more odd that one tenant needs a guarantor. If one fails to pay, then the other is liable.

However, will a Landlord insist on a joint tenancy? Why can't the AST be issued in the name of one only e.g. Glitterati's partner, who is working and appears to have no need for a guarantor.

I think we're talking about different things. By affordability, I meant that Landlords do not look at the joint budget - just salary. Income, of course, is only part of the picture - it might prove you can afford the rent, but it doesn't prove you can afford the rent on top of all the other bills.

Because the other tenant is then a 'permitted occupier'. If the tenant that pays the rent moves out, the LL is left with effectively a squatter who cannot pay the rent

The credit checks take this into account. The checks not only look at bad credit reports but also affordability. ie a certain amount of income needs to be required for a certail level of rent.

Tassotti

enor wrote:

We're in the process of renting a house at the moment. We had to give my salary details on the application form and because they are quite low, we have had to have a guarantor before even the credit checks have been done.

We only paid one set of fees though. So we haven't paid any extra for more credit checks to be done on the Guarantor though! So perhaps this is included in the first lot of fees or they not going to credit check us at all?

If the tenant referencing company requires a guarantor, then they do not charge extra for the first one. If this guarantor also fails the checks, a second guarantor will be needed, which is charged for.

clutton_2

As a landlady, i am much more concerned with finding "surprises" on my credit checks of prospective tenants. I tend to say to prospective tenants, that i would much rather know about a finance difficulty they may have had in the past (we all get into muddles from time to time), and i am more interested in them having found a solution to their muddles. I also explain i prefer honesty on the application form, as a discharged old debt is not a worry - as long as i know about it ! its when prospective tenants hide things and lie that i start to worry about what else they may have lied about.