Advice about being a rent Guarantor

bristol_pilot

The OP should have rented directly from a LL rather than through an agency. If you do this it is much easier to find someone who does not require a guarantor or will accept only one name on the tenancy. I have such a tenancy myself. But with only 2 weeks to go there is not much time left and as a result I'm afraid the OP's Dad is going to get shafted. Hope he has sufficent cash available that he doesn't lose his own home, which is the worst case scenario. OP - if you go to this new town and spend a day looking in newsagents windows, within a day you can find accommodation direct from a LL and sign-up within 2 weeks with no issues and no guarantor. It's just so much easier to use daddy isn't it.

Lilibee

bristol_pilot wrote: »

The OP should have rented directly from a LL rather than through an agency. If you do this it is much easier to find someone who does not require a guarantor or will accept only one name on the tenancy. I have such a tenancy myself. But with only 2 weeks to go there is not much time left and as a result I'm afraid the OP's Dad is going to get shafted. Hope he has sufficent cash available that he doesn't lose his own home, which is the worst case scenario. OP - if you go to this new town and spend a day looking in newsagents windows, within a day you can find accommodation direct from a LL and sign-up within 2 weeks with no issues and no guarantor. It's just so much easier to use daddy isn't it.

I am actually very offended by this. You're assuming that I haven't done what you suggest, or even tried to find a private landlord, without knowing anything about the situation other than I've posted here.

Believe me, I would much prefer a private let. We (my BF and I) have rented from both private landlords and agencies in the past and we've preferred the privates every time, although maybe we've just been lucky in the landlords we've had. You have no idea how difficult it is to find a private landlord in this area, perhaps being a university town is something to do with it, I don't know. Just because you were able to find a private landlord, doesn't mean that everyone else will be able to.

There's a reason that it's two weeks to go, and we've only just found a suitable house now despite having been looking since October.

mustrum_ridcully

Lilibee wrote: »

I should note that I'm aware of the bigger stuff as pointed out by PasturesNew, so's my Dad in agreeing to be guarantor, and we're all OK with those risks. Put it this way, if it ever did come to that, I definitely won't be the one leaving the house... lol. Thanks for reading and responding though.

Don't forget you couldn't kick your BF out as he's a joint tenant. He can stay, bring his floozy round every night and not have to pay rent knowing fully well your dad is obliged to pay his rent.:(

I'm assuming this Masters course is at some small specialised college as most University towns have plenty of accommodation. Isn't there a nearby town where you could rent for less and the leftover cash used for the bus fare to get to the college?

bristol_pilot

G_M wrote: »

The LL can CLAIM anything. If it is disputed (whether by tenant or guarantor) then it could ultimately go to arbitration or court, and the LL would then have to PROVE liability.

The OP appears to be happy to put her father is a position of potentially being taken to court by a LL, although it may very well be that the LL would lose such a case depending on the specifics. Disgraceful. And I don't care whether that offends or not.

Lilibee

Look, I'm not HAPPY about any of this. But I also can't magically make another house, with private landlord and/or agency that doesn't demand a guarantor, appear out of thin air. If I was happy about any of this, I wouldn't be posting here asking for advice about whether my Dad could end up being asked to pay for stuff that we as tenants haven't been asked to pay for first, would I? It's precisely because I'm not happy with this situation that we haven't just automatically signed all the forms. I think we'll query some of those clauses with the agents and ask if they can't be amended or taken out.

Geenie

bristol_pilot wrote: »

The OP should have rented directly from a LL rather than through an agency. If you do this it is much easier to find someone who does not require a guarantor or will accept only one name on the tenancy. I have such a tenancy myself. But with only 2 weeks to go there is not much time left and as a result I'm afraid the OP's Dad is going to get shafted. Hope he has sufficent cash available that he doesn't lose his own home, which is the worst case scenario. OP - if you go to this new town and spend a day looking in newsagents windows, within a day you can find accommodation direct from a LL and sign-up within 2 weeks with no issues and no guarantor. It's just so much easier to use daddy isn't it.

I am a private LL, and I can assure you that I would never just accept one person out of a couple on the AST of a house I was letting, and I can't imagine many with any brains and knowledge of what letting is about would either. Your LL is obviously clueless.

As for a guarantor, I also would want one in these circumstances. I think the girlfriends father is being very generous in offering himself for this position, but that is between them entirely, if they understand the legal implications and what it could cost if things went wrong.

Geenie

Lilibee wrote: »

Look, I'm not HAPPY about any of this. But I also can't magically make another house, with private landlord and/or agency that doesn't demand a guarantor, appear out of thin air. If I was happy about any of this, I wouldn't be posting here asking for advice about whether my Dad could end up being asked to pay for stuff that we as tenants haven't been asked to pay for first, would I? It's precisely because I'm not happy with this situation that we haven't just automatically signed all the forms. I think we'll query some of those clauses with the agents and ask if they can't be amended or taken out.

What you have to make sure you get before the first day is an inventory of everything in the flat. You should go around with the letting agent, make a note of the condition of everything, look behind every nook and cranny, and take pictures. My inventorys always include pictures of every room, and even close up of areas if there is some damage nothing to do with the new tenant moving in, like stains on carpets etc. After we have gone around and both are happy, we sign the copies, and I keep one, and tenants theirs. Then, and only then are the keys handed over.

So in your case, if the cooker is already looking old and on it's last legs, you would have evidence if claims were made against your dad to replace with a new one. If a flat is let furnished, then unless the tenant does something stupid to damage those appliances, it is the LL's responsibility to replace them if they get broken through normal use I would think. I don't let furnished so others with better knowledge will I am sure reply.

roses

Why can't his parents be a guarantor?

Lilibee

roses wrote: »

Why can't his parents be a guarantor?

His mum is a carer for his disabled brother and so has a very small income. His father disappeared when he was a small child and hasn't been seen since. He has no other family except elderly grandparents.

We've lived together for years, but both been in employment before so never needed guarantors before.

Lilibee

Thanks Geenie for your posts, very helpful. I'll make sure to be VERY meticulous about the inventory this time, even more so than usual!

Could I ask, if you've asked for a Guarantor for one of your properties before, does the agreement you use contain clauses like those posted above? (E.g. the one where it says LL could ask for money for damages from Guarantor without first trying to get it from tenants etc?)

I should probably note, I'm not intending to damage or break anything, or leave without paying rent at all! I'm very proud of my record of 100% deposit returned for every house I've ever lived in