Guarantor on tenancy

Blackpool_Saver

gamez-over wrote: »

A guarantor is usually required to have a salary that is equivalent to at least 3 x the annual rent at the property.

Yes and I have it, my aunt and uncle did not.

Blackpool_Saver

I really think you will have to accept as I did that you have to put 6 months down, either by using his loans or a bank overdraft for students, tell him to have a chat with his advisers at the uni, that's what I did.

jillymit

We were not asked our income and have just signed a guarantor agreement for my sons share of the rent of a property he will share with four of his friends.

I would have thought that if the person signing is 'good for the money' then the landlord would be happy although it's a huge thing to ask another young person to take on.

I'm not going to preach about the ins and outs as I'm sure you are fully aware of all the implications if it all goes horribly wrong.
There's another link here
Which you might find interesting.
HTH.

pingu2209

I would be very wary of being a guarantor for a child at Uni. I would be especially wary of being a guarantor for a my sibling. Most students house share, the guarantor is not just guaranteeing their child/sibling's rent, they are guaranteeing the whole property's rent. This is because most rental contracts for students are jointly liable.

Therefore, if your daughter guarantees her brother at, say £350/month for a room in a 4 bed house, if another of the students defaults on his rent, even though her brother continues to pay his share of the rent, your daughter will be liable. She needs to check what she is guaranteeing (don't just take your son's word for it). Check the contact is not a joint contract (which 99% of them are).

In addition, if when the students leave the property, the Land Lord thinks there is damage liable (which in most cases there is, especially boys rentals). If the students disagree and refuse to pay up, the land lord can come after the guarantor - even if the damage is in dispute!

BE VERY WARY!

Madmonk

Thanks everyone for your input - eventhough some people don't seem to realise how much and at what intervals Uni students are given their loans etc. They have to fork out the deposits etc on their accommodation upto 4 months before they move in! So how they would find 6 months rent + 2 months deposit + other fees when they ae only get their loans once they start each term is beyond me! Thanks jillymitt for your link it was a great help! My sister is going to act as my sons guarantor and just to add to the mix my son is sharing with 4 girls!!!!

mm

fedupnow

I am going through the same thing. My son needs a guarantor for his uni property which he is going to share with 3 others.

The form does say that I will only be liable for one quarter of the full amount and then further down the page "liability will not exceed £1056.00 in any quarter" which is what the place is costing them. EACH!!!!

It also says that if the son/daughter pays then the cost shall be nil ... etc.

So, I'm pretty certain I will not be held up for it all. They have asked for postdated cheques - which I am querying, it is against my (and my son's) banks terms and conditions to issue post dated cheques - they can be paid out on immediately, regardless of date which would cause serious problems.

There is no way a student can pay 6 months up front out of his loans - they aren't distributed like that. The loan won't even cover the rent anyway. My son works hard during the holidays to subsidise the loans - he is fortunate in that he has already secured a position for the easter and summer breaks.

Going to uni may be an opportunity for all - but it is so much harder for those without wealthy parents.

silvercar

Or does it need to be someone older? Does each letting agent have different criterea for a guarantor?

A lot of student letting agents just want a name to put on the guarantor list; I seriously reckon that they don't credit check each guarantor they get so you may get away with being a guarantor yourself.

Logically, by being discharge bankrupts you are rid of all previous unsecured debts, so you are reasonably likely to be able to pay if you student child defaults, though I know a straight forward credit check will not give a good result.

I would suss out the letting agent, without giving your name ask whether someone who went bankrupt but is now debt free would be an acceptable guarantor.