Tenant Guarantor

janey70

Hi hoping someone can help .
My daughter who is a mum to  my three year old grandson is trying to get a private rented property as the property she was in last the landlord sold it just before lockdown last year 
we tried to get some advice on what to do as letting agent just sent a notice but the local council homeless department were very unhelpful because she works part time just said nothing they can do but help her look for a property 
any way she moved in with me in end to save for a deposit which she now has but many agents are wanting a  guarantor which she doesn’t have as I don’t own my home and  same for most people we know 
is there anyway round this ? 

I’ve seen some companies offer guarantor for a fee but don’t know much about them 
so any advice would be a great help thank you x

Pennylane

I don’t think you have to own your own house. You are guaranteeing that you will pay her debts if she gets into trouble.  

dimbo61

Who said a guarantor needs to own a property ?
Do you work ?
Would your Daughter be claiming Housing benefits to help pay the rent ?

janey70

dimbo61 said:

Who said a guarantor needs to own a property ?
Do you work ?
Would your Daughter be claiming Housing benefits to help pay the rent ?

I work yes but only a minimum wage job and most letting agents are asking for someone who is a homeowner all we know as when she rings as she claims universal credit to top up her wages so straight away a lot say she doesn’t earn enough or you have to be working full time 

dimbo61

I am sorry but I think you will really struggle with this.
Claiming Housing benefits can take weeks to sort and your daughter may need to pay extra on top.
For example the HB allowance in Manchester is £520 a month for 2 bed house but many rentals are more than this or very poor quality.
LL,s are not keen to wait weeks/months for payments which often get stopped for no reason. 

janey70

dimbo61 said:

I am sorry but I think you will really struggle with this.
Claiming Housing benefits can take weeks to sort and your daughter may need to pay extra on top.

For example the HB allowance in Manchester is £520 a month for 2 bed house but many rentals are more than this or very poor quality.
LL,s are not keen to wait weeks/months for payments which often get stopped for no reason. 

she has been in touch with universal credit and asked how much they would pay towards her rent so she knows what she can afford so that’s not the problem it’s just the guarantor thing 

greatcrested

A landlord, or his agent, can insist on whatever criteria they want from a guarantor. Some do and some don't insist on a home-owner (as any CCJs that go unpaid can be reclaimed via a Charge on the guarantor's property).

If the guaranor's income meets a higher threshold, the home ownership becomes less important.

Another option is sometimes to pay 6 months rent in advance, but that is clearly not possible here.

I believe some councils will undertake the guarantee (or is it that they pay the deposit? Or both? I'm not sure) so worth asking the council.

Rent Guarantee Insurance is available to landlords - some take it out, most don't. I wonder if offering to pay the premium to the LL for him to take out RGI would be feasible? Though many (not all) of these policies require the tenant to meet minimum criteria, and Benefits claimants often don't (obviously the insurers want to minimise the risk of having to pay out so demand higher-earning tenants!).

princeofpounds

The local council will not help directly because she is not homeless. It would have been a different matter if she had turned up at their offices after bring evicted by a bailiff. But now she lives with you, and therefore do not require their services (and as a taxpayer, I get it, even if it's a shame for her).

There isn't a way around it - she has to keep searching. Private landlords may be a better bet than agents as they may have more flexibility on their tenant acceptance process. Also, she should go back to the housing office and see what help they can provide putting her in touch with private sector landlords who accept benefit tenants.