Guarantor Obligations

thepurplepiglet

Apologies if this has been covered elswhere but I have a question about the specific situation I am in.

My wife's son left university and went to live with his girlfriend in her privately-rented house. The landlord has decided to end the tenancy and, because of the state the house is in, has refused to give them a decent reference, which is fair enough. They have managed to find another property but the new landlord requires a guarantor.

Despite my objections and knowing her son's poor track record, my wife is determined that she will sign a guarantor agreement for her son, whatever it contains, knowing full well that she could incur a considerable debt for her son's failure to honour the tenancy agreement. After a heated exchange of views, she is now refusing to discuss the matter further.

We married a few years ago but our marital home, which I lived in for many years prior to our marriage, is owned outright and the deeds are in my name only. My question is, in the event of a default of the tenancy agreement and the landlord seeking redress from my wife, could her position as guarantor affect our property? I am aware that many guarantors are required to be home owners. Could she claim to be the home owner by virtue of our marriage, even though her name does not appear on the property's title deeds?
Any help/advice gratefully received.

dimbo61

The LL would have to take the son/girlfriend to court first and then try and claim off the guarantor.
Do not see how it would effect your property
CCJ would be against the tenants

anselld

You are married; what is yours is hers. But it must be very unlikely that her son could do so much damage that your home is at risk!

Hump

Worse case is that he defaults, you can't or won't pay and the landlord obtains a charge on the property via the court - but how likely is that?

Yorkie1

Hump wrote: »

Worse case is that he defaults, you can't or won't pay and the landlord obtains a charge on the property via the court - but how likely is that?

I agree that there are several steps before a charge might come into play in theory.

However, I can't see how a charge could be placed on a property which is not owned by the person against whom the CC judgment has been made.

Annisele

I suppose in theory OP and his wife could divorce, the house (or part of it) could be awarded to the wife in the divorce settlement, and then the landlord could come after the house.

But if all that happens, OP has bigger problems than his wife's son not paying his rent.

G_M

But the whole point of a guarantor Deed, when properly executed, is that the landlord can take the guarantor to court if there are outstanding arrears or damages relating to the tenancy.

And if the guarantor then defaults on the court order, a CCJ would arise against the guarantor. And potentially a property Charge or Attachmentof earnings.

But I agree that's a long way down the line....

[Deleted User]

Thinking laterally, have either you or your wife checked out whether the landlord is justified in taking all the deposit. Was it protected, has a decision been made by the organisation holding the deposit or was it just an arbitary decision by the landlord?

However, I do appreciate this might not help with a new rental property. I hope you and your wife are able to talk calmly about this. It sounds like discussions have been fairly tense. I would imagine that unless someone acts as guarantor your wife's son will be unable to rent a property. I hope that you are able to resolve this. Perhaps you could encourage your wife to request that your son rents a room rather than a whole property until he is financially viable enough to rent somewhere himself. Perhaps you and your wife could look at what would happen to your budget if you ended up having to pay her son's monthly rent. But this needs to be done calmly.

Maryanne1955

I sent the following questions to an agency where a family member wants me to act as guarantor

I have been asked to act as a guarantor for the above address. Can you please answer the following questions.

Can you please advise me what I am liable for apart from the rent if not paid, ie if there are carpets and at the end of the tenancy for cleaning them or other expenses ie water leak, fire etc.

Has the electric been checked and is there a safety certificate?

At the end of the tenancy what charges apply? And who is liable?

Can the tenant change the supplier for the electric?

Do I get a copy of the tenancy agreement?

If the tenant defaults on the rent, how long is it before I am made aware?

Does the tenant have to provide own household insurance?

Is there a smoke detector in the property?

At the end of the 6 month tenancy agreement and the tenant wishes to remain and landlord is happy would a guarantor still be needed?

Is there a service charge?

How much notice is required each way if the tenancy ends?

Do you inspect the property before the tenant moves in to ensure no damage done by previous tenant?

I notice on the form you wish me to complete that you ask for all my personal information, what will you do with this information? How will it be stored?

Why do you need my bank details when you also ask for my employer to confirm my salary and work history and also my national insurance number?

I would be grateful if you could answer the above asap

Today I got a reply that said
As guarantor you should be aware of the following:
In the event that tenants fail to pay the rent for the property, or fail to meet any of the other obligations set out in the tenancy agreement, the guarantor agrees that they will be solely responsible for all costs.
Furthermore, regardless of the length of the initial tenancy, after signing a guarantor agreement, the signatory understands that they will be the guarantor indefinitely for the entire time that the tenants have tenure of the property.
Effectively, there is no limit to the amount that the guarantor is liable to pay. However, in practice, if the guarantor is confident that the tenant won’t default on their rent or cause damage to the property, they should be confident that they will never be called upon to pay anything.
A full copy of the tenancy agreement is available at our office for inspection.
So no reply really now am very worried re standing as guarantor

Anyone got any advise thanks

cajef

Maryanne1955 wrote: »

Anyone got any advise thanks

Yes don't do it unless you have enough spare cash lying around that you can afford to lose in the event of them defaulting.

Thrugelmir

Effectively, there is no limit to the amount that the guarantor is liable to pay.

Sums up the position succinctly.