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

LandyAndy · 14 January 2014 at 10:04AM

Have to say, I agree with everything silvercar has said. Students are very very unlikely to get decent (or, indeed, any) accommodation without a guarantor.

My elder son is now in his second year and I am guarantor for his accommodation.

The agreement leaves me liable for his share of the rent but it makes me and the other guarantors jointly and severally liable for other costs. I'm not entirely happy with that but it's hard to see how things like damage to the property could be attributed to individual occupants without giving rise to endless arguments.

I think if you have a child at a remote university then you really don't have a realistic alternative. All part of being a parent.

I'd be interested to know if anyone on here has actually refused to be a guarantor for their child and what the consequences were.

silvercar · 14 January 2014 at 11:31AM

LandyAndy wrote: »

I'd be interested to know if anyone on here has actually refused to be a guarantor for their child and what the consequences were.

Anecdotaly, some students fake their parents signature.

We have been acting as guarantor for a total of 5 years, only once has an employer been contacted to verify employment. Some guarantor forms require details of income etc to ensure you have enough income to justify being a guarantor, others are just interested in a signature on a piece of paper.

One year, one of my kids shared a house where 2 of the students were from overseas. This involved them in a lot more paperwork.

One of this year's housemates comes from a home where we know there won't be any money if the guarantor is called upon - it didn't seem to be an issue.