Guarantor

Roger_H

Hello, Last year I signed to be a guarantor for my son and his girlfriend for a property they wanted to rent. It has come to light that she was using him and he has been thrown out by her. I have noticed that the Deed of Guarantee form I signed lists both of them as tenants, his name first and her name second. However on the Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement they signed, under Tenant it names her and then in brackets him as a permitted occupier? As I signed the Guarantor form naming them both as "Tenants" can I revoke this?

Thank You

[Deleted User]

Roger_H wrote: »

Hello, Last year I signed to be a guarantor for my son and his girlfriend for a property they wanted to rent. It has come to light that she was using him and he has been thrown out by her. I have noticed that the Deed of Guarantee form I signed lists both of them as tenants, his name first and her name second. However on the Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement they signed, under Tenant it names her and then in brackets him as a permitted occupier? As I signed the Guarantor form naming them both as "Tenants" can I revoke this?

Thank You

Was the guarantor form signed by you and witnessed so that it was executed as a deed? Did you receive a copy of the tenancy agreement before signing the guarantor form?

G_M

As the tenancy agreement lists him as Permitted Occupier, not joint tenant, he has no tenancy rights or obligations, so he has no ongoing liability for rent, bills etc (though he may have liabilities to her eg if he caused damage).

That's the good news.

The bad news is that you signed a guarantee agreement with her name as tenant shown, agreeing presumably to cover any debts she incurs.

You may have grounds to set aside the agreement though. As Lycra suggests above, if it was not signed and witnessed as a a deed, or if you had not been given a copy of the TA in advance (to verify what you were guaranteeing), it should be invalid. Having said that, courts sometimes allow such documents if the intention was clear.

You could also challange the agreement on the grounds that it did not match the TA it was guaranting. I suspect a court would be sympathetic to this claim since it would be apparant to the court that you were more concerned about your son's liability (which is zero) than hers.

But courts can be unpredictable at times.

Has a claim actually arisen against you,or are you just concerned for the future? If the latter, and you request the landlord/agent to nullify the agreement, I suspect he/they will refuse. Unless they can pursuade the ongoing tenant to find a replacement guarantor, he/they will want to maintain you as guarantor, especially as the ongoing tenant is now more likely to struggle with the rent.....

You cannot unilaterally revoke a (valid) guarantee agreement - that would make them pointless as all guarantors would then do so as soon as the tenancy started!

Probably best not to stir a can of worms unless/until a claim is made against you at which point you contest its validity.

Roger_H

Lover_of_Lycra wrote: »

Was the guarantor form signed by you and witnessed so that it was executed as a deed? Did you receive a copy of the tenancy agreement before signing the guarantor form?

I signed the document and it was witnessed by a work colleague as I live quite far from my son. They did send the agreement with it, I just did not notice unfortunately. I presume having my signature witnessed makes it a deed?

Roger_H

G_M wrote: »

As the tenancy agreement lists him as Permitted Occupier, not joint tenant, he has no tenancy rights or obligations, so he has no ongoing liability for rent, bills etc (though he may have liabilities to her eg if he caused damage).

That's the good news.

The bad news is that you signed a guarantee agreement with her name as tenant shown, agreeing presumably to cover any debts she incurs.

You may have grounds to set aside the agreement though. As Lycra suggests above, if it was not signed and witnessed as a a deed, or if you had not been given a copy of the TA in advance (to verify what you were guaranteeing), it should be invalid. Having said that, courts sometimes allow such documents if the intention was clear.

You could also challange the agreement on the grounds that it did not match the TA it was guaranting. I suspect a court would be sympathetic to this claim since it would be apparant to the court that you were more concerned about your son's liability (which is zero) than hers.

But courts can be unpredictable at times.

Has a claim actually arisen against you,or are you just concerned for the future? If the latter, and you request the landlord/agent to nullify the agreement, I suspect he/they will refuse. Unless they can pursuade the ongoing tenant to find a replacement guarantor, he/they will want to maintain you as guarantor, especially as the ongoing tenant is now more likely to struggle with the rent.....

You cannot unilaterally revoke a (valid) guarantee agreement - that would make them pointless as all guarantors would then do so as soon as the tenancy started!

Probably best not to stir a can of worms unless/until a claim is made against you at which point you contest its validity.

I could kick myself for not noticing at the time. No claim has been made against me but considering her actions I would not be surprised if the rent is not paid in the coming months. I was hoping that because the the guarantor form states he is to be a tenant but the agreement form contradicts this it may have been grounds.

theartfullodger

Suggest if they pursue you for money you don't pay, see if go to court, if so defend on grounds guarantee was/is invalid.

Good luck

G_M

Roger_H wrote: »

I signed the document and it was witnessed by a work colleague as I live quite far from my son. They did send the agreement with it, I just did not notice unfortunately. I presume having my signature witnessed makes it a deed?

It also has to say it is a deed!


eg "signed (or 'executed') as a Deed by :................................... the landlord"
etc


eg https://www.cwtchlettings.com/assets/pdf/DEEDOFGUARANTEE.pdf


http://jamesproperties.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/GuarantorAgreement-JP.pdf

Roger_H

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Unfortunately it does say deed