does anyone know about being a guarantor for a student???

BigAunty

Students, like housing benefit claimants, get classed as risky tenants so this is why the guarantor option is used.

I know previous posters have told you to avoid a joint contract but most landlords operate them. They don't want to have to deal with 7 tenants who are legally separate which is a huge amount of admin and risk. They want tenants to operate cooperatively as a group.

Scam is the wrong term - it is risk management. It puts the risk back from the landlord onto the students and their parents. If the parents of the students have no appetite to be responsible for their children paying the rent and not trashing the property, then they can simply decline the opportunity for their child to have a tenancy.

High risk tenants are required to provide guarantors. Most tenants who live together in a property where the landlord resides elsewhere are on joint contracts. So far, so normal.

Like others, I think the OPs son is dead cheeky to thrust this responsibility and risk onto her as an expectation and done deal rather than a polite request. If the OP is disinclined to be responsible for the group operating together to run a successful tenancy, then she should tell him to hop it.

dimbo61

Some insurance companies will not offer cover on students properties!
Some insurance companies will not offer cover if more than 4 unrelated people are living together!
Having a group of students on a Joint-and-several agreement means they are all responsible for the rent and looking after the property.
If something gets damaged they should report it and PAY if they did the damage!
If the central heating stops ring/text/email or write to the landlord and he/she should have it fixed ASAP.
So eight students are paying £414 each so £3312 in total for a £300K/£350K property =1% of the value. Which must be protected in the DPS.
Landlords have insurance but this does not cover criminal damage done by the tenant/s.
I had to be a guarantor when my son was in Halls for his first two years at uni and now in a private flat as well.
Do you trust your SON?

Yorkie1

BigAunty wrote: »

Students, like housing benefit claimants, get classed as risky tenants so this is why the guarantor option is used.

I know previous posters have told you to avoid a joint contract but most landlords operate them. They don't want to have to deal with 7 tenants who are legally separate which is a huge amount of admin and risk. They want tenants to operate cooperatively as a group.

Scam is the wrong term - it is risk management. It puts the risk back from the landlord onto the students and their parents. If the parents of the students have no appetite to be responsible for their children paying the rent and not trashing the property, then they can simply decline the opportunity for their child to have a tenancy.

High risk tenants are required to provide guarantors. Most tenants who live together in a property where the landlord resides elsewhere are on joint contracts. So far, so normal.

Like others, I think the OPs son is dead cheeky to thrust this responsibility and risk onto her as an expectation and done deal rather than a polite request. If the OP is disinclined to be responsible for the group operating together to run a successful tenancy, then she should tell him to hop it.

The greater the number of tenants, the higher the % risk that one might not pay their way. And also the higher the overall amount of rent which is paid monthly to the LL.

Part of the decision for the OP is to ascertain the overall house rental amount, if they are jointly and severally liable for the whole rent.

dimbo61

Spareroom had an index or average rental costs for a room/bedroom across the country. Liverpool was £79 a week, Manchester £86 and central London £170 so depending on where he is at uni £82 is not bad and cheaper than halls I bet !
If a student fails exams or wants to move out it is up to the group to find a replacement.
It is up to the student to pay his/her rent then the guarantor can be asked to cough up if no joy from the missing student.

BigAunty

Yorkie1 wrote: »

Part of the decision for the OP is to ascertain the overall house rental amount, if they are jointly and severally liable for the whole rent.

Indeed.

Is it still the case that a joint tenancy agreement cannot have more than 4 tenants?

spacey2012

Why not look for a course they can travel to.
save all the hassle and live at home.
All this has to be paid back you know.

Poppops

I lived in shared accommodation for three years at Liverpool. Not once did we get back the deposit. Every year we spent months trying to get the deposit back on the previous house.

I would openly admit if there had been any damage done but can honestly say we improved all houses we lived in and every landlord came up with ridiculous lists of things we had damaged.

In our final year the landlord said we had damaged the beds which we had all been required to pay him for in full before we moved in!

However my problem was that I had been a scholarship girl at public school and moved to uni with friends whose fathers worked in Saudi or the like and weren't interested in the hassle of trying to get a few hundred quid back. So I was the lone voice saying, 'let's fight this' while their fathers were telling them to move on.

I'd be very wary of being a guarantor for this kind of accommodation

dodger1

silvercar wrote: »

All standard procedure for students renting.

If you refuse to act as guarantor for your student child, chances are they won't find a landlord prepared to take them on. The only options then available to them would be to remain in Halls of residence (private or university owned) or to wait until September for a grotty property that a desperate landlord hasn't been able to rent out earlier.

There is nothing standard about asking a guarantor to pay money up front. The whole idea of a guarantor is that he pays up if the tenant defaults.

dimbo61

I think Mum is being asked for the rent over the summer!£359 half rent July and August.
Now your little angle could get a job and repay Mum out of his own money.
Student loan is just under £5000 a year and his RENT will be £3949 next year ( + BILLS?)
How much is the room in halls costing?

Excited13

I'm so glad I'm no longer a student as I wouldn't have been able to find a guarantor as my mum doesn't earn enough. I graduated over 5 years ago so it sounds like a lot has changed. I would be very wary about being a guarantor for a Uni student due to the behaviour of the LLs keeping deposits etc.