Guarantor for daughter's rent

damsonjam

My daughter is at university and renting out a property for a letting agent (no other option it seems), they are asking me to be guarantor.
Whereas I understand (most of!) the risks and think it is largely standard practice, what I'm not happy about is the level of information that the agency is asking me for in order to be 'accepted':
my current account banking details (A/C number, sort code) - why?
my most recent bank statement (why?)
a copy of my passport (proof of id?)
my exact salary (why?)
a recent utility bill (I can understand why)
my employment status (employer and current standing) - I can understand why

Whereas I understand they want a certain level of assurance, and I can understand they'd want some proof of identity, I'm reluctant to hand over a level of detail that is useful for identity theft to a third party that I've never met (not will I ever meet, hopefully!)

Am I being paranoid? Is this standard practice?
Its bad enough that I'm going to be accountable for everything except world peace in the contract..

Browntoa

standard practice, had the same 3 years ago

tom9980

damsonjam wrote: »

My daughter is at university and renting out a property for a letting agent (no other option it seems), they are asking me to be guarantor.
Whereas I understand (most of!) the risks and think it is largely standard practice, what I'm not happy about is the level of information that the agency is asking me for in order to be 'accepted':

my current account banking details (A/C number, sort code) - why? - I assume to check the bank statement is legit. This is the one thing in the list i would question. However the only thing they can do with it is setup a Direct Debit however that would be illegal and your covered by the DD guarantee in such circumstances anyway.
my most recent bank statement (why?) - To check your incoming/outgoings and savings to ensure you could pay rent in the event your daughter did not pay
a copy of my passport (proof of id?) A passport is hard to obtain and confirms you are a legit person.
my exact salary (why?) To ensure you can pay the rent and check affordability
a recent utility bill (I can understand why) To check and confirm ID
my employment status (employer and current standing) - I can understand why

Whereas I understand they want a certain level of assurance, and I can understand they'd want some proof of identity, I'm reluctant to hand over a level of detail that is useful for identity theft to a third party that I've never met (not will I ever meet, hopefully!)

Am I being paranoid? Is this standard practice?
Its bad enough that I'm going to be accountable for everything except world peace in the contract..

I have made responses above in red text. Basically most of those are standard practice.

fawd1

damsonjam wrote: »

My daughter is at university and renting out a property for a letting agent (no other option it seems), they are asking me to be guarantor.
Whereas I understand (most of!) the risks and think it is largely standard practice, what I'm not happy about is the level of information that the agency is asking me for in order to be 'accepted':
my current account banking details (A/C number, sort code) - why? So that if your daughter doesn't pay they can charge you direct
my most recent bank statement (why?) to check affordability
a copy of my passport (proof of id?) exactly
my exact salary (why?) to check affordability
a recent utility bill (I can understand why)
my employment status (employer and current standing) - I can understand why

Am I being paranoid? Is this standard practice?
Its bad enough that I'm going to be accountable for everything except world peace in the contract..

See above and yes this is standard practice. They will check your ability to be a guarantor as much as they check her ability to pay the rent. It makes sense, what would be the point in having a guarantor who would be unable to cover the bills?

00ec25

damsonjam wrote: »

my current account banking details (A/C number, sort code) - why? good question - not much use to them unless you also sign a direct debit form - and that you certainly will not do! They cannot take money direct from your account without your express approval
my most recent bank statement (why?) proof you have the income you say you do
a copy of my passport (proof of id?) proof of id
my exact salary (why?) so your affordability can be assessed
a recent utility bill (I can understand why) proof of address
my employment status (employer and current standing) - I can understand why proof you have an income and also in case they have to go to court to get an attachment of earnings order because you have not paid up

Its bad enough that I'm going to be accountable for everything except world peace in the contract..

so is it joint and several liability exposing you to everyone's shortcomings or just your liability for DD's potential mess ups ?

Welcome to the world of guarantors for students - in the old days it was called a signed blank cheque - same level of exposure!

damsonjam

it seems to be joint and several liability:

"If I/We have entered into this agreement with more than one person, I/we understand that our responsibilities can be enforced against us jointly or against each of us separately."

Although I suspect (and thanks to the respondents for 'reassuring' (if that's the right word!) me that this is standard practice, its nice to know what I'm letting myself in for.. 'blank cheque' springs to mind....

BitterAndTwisted

DO NOT sign a Deed of Guarantee for a joint-and-several tenancy!

Countless numbers of students fall out, sometimes within weeks of moving into a property, and finding a replacement acceptable to the landlord may not necessarily be easy or straighforward. Meanwhile the guarantor/s are fully liable for the whole of the rent for the entire duration of the tenancy.

Be a guarantor for your own child's rent by all means but not someone else's children.

vacationgirl

DamsonJam,

Our daughter has just recently secured her first job after university (after several holidays to recharge her batteries!).She has moved 200 miles away and is renting a room in a professional house share.

We found ourselves in exactly the same position as yourself, we could not believe the amount of personal information required especially when our daughter is actually working! the landlord wanted proof of our salaries plus that of our daughters.It made us question whether this is legal (?) but what choice do you have...none

To add insult she is paying the same monthly rent as my son is paying for his mortgage on a 2 bed house! She has just a bedroom in a shared house, no en-suite even.

Also, as one poster said, do not sign anything which ties you into paying rent for a third party should they decide to leave the property.

damsonjam

Thanks for the advice: the letting agency is playing hardball...insisting it is 'standard practice' and refusing to reword the agreement to limit my liability to my own daughter..

As an alternative, I can avoid being her guarantor by paying the rent upfront in one lump sum...given current interest rates...I might go that way ,,,I have to pay her rent anyway...

jjlandlord

If your daughter is a joint-tenant, she is jointly and severally liable for the whole of the rent and there is no such thing as 'her share' of the rent.

This means that, in any case, "limiting your liability to your own daughter" does not mean much in terms of preventing you from having to pay for others.

Tixy

damsonjam wrote: »

Thanks for the advice: the letting agency is playing hardball...insisting it is 'standard practice' and refusing to reword the agreement to limit my liability to my own daughter..

As an alternative, I can avoid being her guarantor by paying the rent upfront in one lump sum...given current interest rates...I might go that way ,,,I have to pay her rent anyway...

Is this the only housing option? is she committed to this? can she still look elsewhere? Ideally she wants to be renting a room in a property and have a tenancy agreement just for herself, limiting her to only be liable for her own rent.

Renting as a group can be a nightmare. If others don't pay their share of the rent she will be liable. And even if you are not guarantor that only protects you not her.