University student - guarantor being asked to pay other students rent debts

matttye

teacherblue wrote: »

I am so scared. I have spent my whole life being so careful as not to get in debt. I have never had savings but have have never owed a penny. There must be something I can do to make these families responsible for their own debt?

They are as responsible as you are, but the EA is coming after you. You can try to persuade them to go after the others but the EA holds all the cards. You are liable for the full rent due by virtue of your guarantor status.

My understanding is that if you pay the debt you can sue the other people are liable, but until then you have no right to sue.

wwl

teacherblue wrote: »

My Son paid his rent in full and kept
On asking about his deposit being returned he has been informed by the estate agent that the deposit will be kept and they will be billing him for a appox £1200 as two of the students have failed to pay their rent for some months.

Surely some negligence on the part of the EA to have let it go on for so long?

stator

It would be worth paying for professional advice.

teacherblue

I will stator - just really hadn't expected this so am in shock and panicking tonight.

Jon_B_2

teacherblue wrote: »

I will stator - just really hadn't expected this so am in shock and panicking tonight.

Going on a public forum is not something I'd have considered if I was worried...

[Deleted User]

I go on this site and others when there's something causing concern. Getting advice can be helpful, its what these kind of forums are for.., so goodness knows what the above comment is for, on this forum lol.

OP.., are you sure you are the only guarantor being chased for this money? I would have thought there would be other guarantors in the country who can be chased as well as you. I doubt everyone concerned is out of the country.

Wait and see what happens. I hope it works out ok. You have a bit of time before you really really need to start worrying. It will take time for anything to happen, at the moment the agency is looking for weak points (people who can and will pay).

You could also go to the CAB to get advice. They may be able to help.

Jon_B_2

Not when a lot of opinions are uninformed and is all conjecture. If something is causing a great deal of stress I prefer to go to a voice of expertise first.

Of course there are people on here who know what they are talking about - but the majority are only speculating.

pinkshoes

As a next step, your son should be contacting IN WRITING the other students that have not paid, particularly the one that lives in the UK. He should tell them that YOU are being pursued for THEIR unpaid rent, so if they do not pay what they owe, and you will be taking him/them to court for the amount where he/they will then have to pay added court costs, and if he cannot pay he will end up with a CCJ.

Does the student who lives abroad have any plans to ever return to the UK?

I would also look very closely into whether the guarantor agreement was correctly set up, as they often are not.

Rosemary7391

Get your son to get advice from the University - they should have an accommodation advice centre or similar. Have they finished their courses? If not, you know at least the students will be around next year, so you could in theory attempt to take them to the small claims court. Whether that would be helpful or not depends on whether they have the ability to pay.

eddddy

pinkshoes wrote: »

I would also look very closely into whether the guarantor agreement was correctly set up, as they often are not.

Although even if the agreement is invalid, the LL can still sue your son - which you might regard as an equally bad outcome.

It's likely that the LL would target whoever they think is the 'softest' option of all the tenants and guarantors. Perhaps the wealthiest, the most cooperative, or the least likely to fight in court.

But as others have said, the best outcome would be if everyone persuaded the non-paying tenants to pay up.