Being a Guarantor for my Ex!

RAS

BeingThere wrote: »

Through ineptitude and in moments of anger she has been known to screw things up quite royally. I need to mitigate this in some way as I can't just trust her to manage her own finances, she's messed it up before in quite a big way.

BUT I have to keep in the front of my mind that all she wants is a warm, safe place for her and the kids. She doesn't want court cases or the threat of homelessness.

have you thought about suggesting she contact CAP https://capuk.org/?

They are debt cousellors. They also provide 1:1 support in some area for people who struggle to budget and manage their finances.

If you are splitting she is going to have a few rough weeks waiting for the benefits to get organised and they can help out with that as well.

BeingThere_2

sharp910sh wrote: »

I think if you try to artifically increase the rent to cover the loss for the landlord if there is any problems with damage or whatever, housing benefit may become funny. Saying that, the maximum she can get you say is £625 which is an extra £25, which is not much protection.

I've thought about a previous post and to be honest the housing benefit is an important and stretched benefit as it is. Increasing the rent in that way is something I can't square with myself on a moral basis. It would need to be me or my ex footing any extra rent.

That being said we're really trying to mitigate risk to the LL without being a guarantor; not just pay him off and as you say and extra £25 p/m isn't really significant protection.

The extra money in the deposit and/or 6 months rent up front should do that more effectively than an increase in the rent.

sharp910sh wrote: »

I think you should start calling the estate agent/landlord and discuss your situation.

Absolutely, we're meeting with the EA in a couple of hours.

Also, my annual salary is more than 3x then annual rent but my outgoings wouldn't allow me to pay £600 per month, if anyone looks closely they'll see that I really can't cover a worst case scenario. So perhaps I won't be able to be a guarantor even if I wanted to.

dancingfairy

Can you not move out and leave her and the kids in thehouse? Would hb cover where she is now?
You could try and rent elsewhere and she could apply for hb and carry on living there. O.K landlord may get the hump and issue eviction proceedings but if she continued paying the rent then the landlord would have to take her to court to evict her and to appoint bailiffs and your ex and the kids would be classed as homeless (and would therefore be a priority) for housing?
df

BeingThere_2

NervousHomeowner wrote: »

This sounds like a good idea in theory but not having a local branch could be a real pain if anything goes wrong with the payments. I know this is the whole point - that she can't get to the money as easily - but not having a local branch of the bank could mean that if, for whatever reason, something changes with the rent (rent goes up, HB doesn't get paid in time or gets withheld, the bank have an issue that means the SO isn't paid, LL requests the rent be paid into a different account) your ex will really struggle to get to the bank and rectify things in time, which could cause more trouble. I understand the theory behind it but I think it could potentially be a bit more trouble than it's worth and is a bit overkill.

Thanks for the considered response, I know that too much restriction is potentially dangerous, but we have a major city just a bus ride away. I'd insist that there be a local branch there, just not within 5 minutes walking distance.

She has been known to fly off the handle and do some damaging things within an hour or so of an argument and I honestly believe that she could transfer the rent out of the account after an argument. She'd then bitterly regret it a few hours later and transfer it back in, or make whatever amends she could.

However, if the means to do this is a bus ride away and would take at least an hour or so then I'd be reasonably confident that she wouldn't do it or would cool down and reconsider on the bus ride. This really boils down to my knowledge of her and how she reacts to situations, while she's not fundamentally spiteful, she has a fiery temper and it can be a while before reason returns.

NervousHomeowner wrote: »

Also, why no telephone or internet banking? She can't exactly take cash out with telephone or internet banking and it can be really helpful if, for whatever reason, your ex can't get into the branch during working ours (e.g. she gets a job). I think no ATM access is a good idea, as is the separate account, but I think maybe in trying to make sure the money is protected, you could be making things a little too difficult for your ex

I'd like some internet or telephone banking, but from my experience with my own bank these services typically allow you to transfer money out of the account instantly, and I don't want her to be able to transfer the money to her current account with a 2 minute phone call.

If there is a way of being able to stop this that would be great, I've not looked into the various accounts that banks/building societies provide yet.

That's the next job on the list after this afternoon's meeting with the EA

rpc

sharp910sh wrote: »

You will be liable until the tenant moves out, not after 6 months. This is standard. Even if the tenant signs another contract for another 6 months, you will be still liable.

In order for the guarantee to be valid, the guarantor must have been sent a copy of the contract that they are guaranteeing. It is good practice to attach this to the deed. If the first contract ends and a new one replaces it, the guarantee can't carry over unless it is renewed.

Also bear in mind that while a LL or solicitor can prepare a deed of guarantee, an agent cannot!

BeingThere_2

dancingfairy wrote: »

Can you not move out and leave her and the kids in thehouse? Would hb cover where she is now?
You could try and rent elsewhere and she could apply for hb and carry on living there. O.K landlord may get the hump and issue eviction proceedings but if she continued paying the rent then the landlord would have to take her to court to evict her and to appoint bailiffs and your ex and the kids would be classed as homeless (and would therefore be a priority) for housing?
df

Hi, thanks dancingfairy.

But, this isn't really an option, it's easier if I just bullet list the reasons

* We both want a permanent mid-to-long term solution to this situation

* We live in a small town and the EA of our current house is local and is being very helpful in looking for new accommodation (well they're doing their job I suppose!) but we don't want to start ruffling the feathers of the hand that feeds us ... er, mixed proverbs

* She has other enormous and unrelated stresses, the last thing she needs is court cases and bailiffs, and the same with me, and the kids. The option of least stress is to stay living together until a permanent solution comes into play - though this is not by any means a stress free solution

* While moving out of the area is an option, it is a final option. Partly because of the schools, but also for other reason I can't discuss. I don't want it to happen but I'm aware it may be the only option left in the end

* Finally, housing benefit won't cover the rent on the house we're in now

Thanks for taking the time to respond though

Voyager2002

I recently signed an agreement to be a guarantor for my student son.

The documentation was very clear that my liability was limited to any unpaid rent: it stated explicitly that I could not be pursued for damage to the property nor for any other costs other than the rent. So the kind of agreement that you seek does exist and is in use.

monty-doggy

^^^ that's good news?

Yorkie1

I fail to see how you would enforce the bank account side of things with your ex if she decided to close it or do things differently. You'd have absolutely no power over her to dictate the bank account she uses, nor how she chooses to use that bank account.

If that is the case, then if there is no clause in the contract that indicates that it moves to a rolling contract after the contract term, then there must be a new contract agreed at the end of the term, and in that case the guarantor would need to explicitly agree. Obviously the guarantor is still liable for anything within that initial 6 month contract.

I believe statute provides for a fixed term tenancy to become periodic after the expiry of the fixed term. The tenancy will not, and does not need to, contain a clause providing for a periodic tenancy after expiry, because statute does so.

Also, I thought it was unlawful for a contract to enforce an open ended liability. I thought 'reasonable time' was the preferred term? I'm not sure how this would work with a rolling contract which is essentially open ended? Another one for the solicitor - I should have been a solicitor.

I think you are grasping at straws here. You have the choice not to sign up as a guarantor, but as statute permits a periodic tenancy, which is the same tenancy as the fixed term other than different notice terms, your guarantorship would simply continue for the tenancy.

Paul_the_Painter

I think the Housing Benefit can be paid to anyone EXCEPT the landlord. So you could open a second bank account with your current bank, just for the HB, and you pay the landlord the rent. Your ex could change the arrangements with the council, but again will not be quick.
As far as the landlord is concerned the rent is being paid on time by HER, he has no idea of your involvement, so will be good for further down the line with potential need for referencing etc.
The other big plus is that you can potentially absorb, or smooth out flows of money due to the strange way HB is paid without the involvement of your ex.