Letting agent demanding guarantor for anyone under 25? Legal?

LegalNim

My sister is looking at moving into a professional house share in London - she gets on well with the people who live there and it's good value and convenient for her. We're not in contact with our parents so they cannot be a guarantor for her, I'm not able to be one either because of my mortgage. She has a job that is more than enough to cover the rent and has enough in savings to cover the full term of the contract. She said this to the lettings agent and they've said they require a guarantor for anyone under 25, regardless of their financial situation. Even when she offered to pay all the rent upfront, they said they still need a guarantor because she's under 25. Is this legal - it seems like it's age discrimination to me? How can she get a guarantor other than parents (her friends won't be over 25 either)? 
Any advice?

Cakeguts

Where is she living currently?

[Deleted User]

LegalNim said:

My sister is looking at moving into a professional house share in London - she gets on well with the people who live there and it's good value and convenient for her. We're not in contact with our parents so they cannot be a guarantor for her, I'm not able to be one either because of my mortgage. She has a job that is more than enough to cover the rent and has enough in savings to cover the full term of the contract. She said this to the lettings agent and they've said they require a guarantor for anyone under 25, regardless of their financial situation. Even when she offered to pay all the rent upfront, they said they still need a guarantor because she's under 25. Is this legal - it seems like it's age discrimination to me? How can she get a guarantor other than parents (her friends won't be over 25 either)? 
Any advice?

Maybe, maybe not. Whilst age is a protected characteristic in the Equality Act there are allowable exceptions. For example, the government itself discriminates against under 35s by offering them a lower amount of Local Housing Allowance the over 35s. 

Your sister could follow the letting agency’s complaints procedure and then escalate the matter with whichever redress scheme the letting agency is registered with. Regardless of any action she chooses to take the reality is that she will need to find somewhere else to rent. 

lookstraightahead

Does seem a strange thing that she's any higher a risk than anyone else.

I remember wondering why I was "too old" for a 16-25 railcard as well, so it does work both ways.

Ridiculous really. Very much a generalisation. 

[Deleted User]

Can you clarify what you mean by saying that you are not able to become a guarantor because of your mortgage. I think you can be a guarantor if you are a home owner (mortgaged), provided your gross income meets their criteria.

If what you are saying is that you don't want to take the risk of having to pay your sister's arrears, then really that would only be illustrative of why a landlord wants a guarantor, mystery solved.

A risk that you are not willing to take, but which the landlord should?

nyermen

If its a house share, are they asking for joint/several liability?  That might mean a guarantor is liable for more than just the sister's potential arrears?