Rent Guarantor

theartfullodger

cp33c said:

theartfullodger said:

Which country please?? (EG NI, Scotland) Different laws and processes.

Sadly guarantee agreements - if documented correctly from a landlord's view - are basically blank cheques.  Bad idea for guarantor.  (Apologies I'm an evil capitalist landlord)

But many are incorrectly worded or the guarantor is not given the right documents in the right timescales, the guarantee thus being unenforceable (as long as guarantor defends correctly).

Assuming England suggest you read this carefully then ask and questions you still have.
https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/private_renting/guarantors_for_private_renters
- it's a complicated matter.

Good luck,, 

Many thanks for your reply.

This is in England. I've had a look at the link you posted and even though it's to protect landlords, it's obvious to me now that the landlord didn't follow some of those rules. So, still a good source

Good!  ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

molerat

Why are you getting a solicitor involved ?  It will be clear if the guarantor paperwork is legally compliant or not - does it contain the wording as intimated by pinkshoes and is it signed by all parties and witnessed ?   If not I would simply ignore them.

Uriziel

molerat said:

Why are you getting a solicitor involved ?  It will be clear if the guarantor paperwork is legally compliant or not - does it contain the wording as intimated by pinkshoes and is it signed by all parties and witnessed ?   If not I would simply ignore them.

His case very clearly is not as simple as that. OP says that they are trying to claim for wear and tear which is illegal for them to do. This is clearly a dodgy landlord trying to take advantage. It is also strange they are not providing any photos or actual reasoning for the costs. I doubt the landlord will pursue this after seeing that a lawyer has been involved.

Either way refuse becoming anyone's guarantor moving forward no matter who is asking unless they make having a slave legal again. Unless you literally own a human being that you are paying for you will never know how they are going to behave and it will be absolutely and completely legal. It is extremely legal for a child to have a parent as guarantor and then simply to cease paying rent. The parent then has to indefinitely pay rent and cannot stop this. There is no legal way out of this and if you get into an argument with your child the authorities will side with them and you will continue to pay. It is a very silly and outdated system that should be abolished.

cp33c

I was explaining to a few friends what's happened and the next thing I know a solicitor that they know has offered to send them a letter to the landlord.

In terms of the wording, I obviously didn't read pinkshoes comment correctly as it's just hit me what they meant. Here is the wording of the signature page:

"The Landlord or the Landlord's Agent sign this agreement to confirm acceptance of the terms within it and in accordance with Statutory Instrument 2007 No. 797 Regulation 2(1)(g)(vii), the Landlord certifies that the information provided about the Tenancy Deposit Protection prescribed information is accurate to the best of his knowledge and belief; and that the Tenant has had the opportunity to sign this document containing the information provided by the Landlord, by way of confirmation that the information is accurate to the best of the Tenant's knowledge and belief.

Signature(s) of Landlord(s) - Signed

The Tenant signs this agreement to confirm acceptance of the terms within it and in accordance with Statutory Instrument 2007 No. 797 Regulation 2(1)(g)(vii)(bb), the Tenant confirms that the information provided about the Tenancy Deposit Protection prescribed information is accurate to the best of the Tenant's knowledge and belief.

Signature(s) of Tenant(s) - Both signed
Signature of Witness - Signed
Name of Witness - Name provided
Address of Witness - Address provided
Signature of Guarantor - My signature
Signature of Witness - Signed
Name of Witness - Name provided
Address of Witness - Address provided
Signature of relevant person - Unsigned

PLEASE NOTE: SHOULD YOU WISH TO CONTINUE YOUR TENANCY A NEW AGREEMENT MUST BE SIGNED. THE RENEWAL FEE FOR 6 OR 12 MONTHS IS £75.00 PLUS VAT"

That is the entirety of the signature page. 

cp33c

Uriziel said:

molerat said:

Why are you getting a solicitor involved ?  It will be clear if the guarantor paperwork is legally compliant or not - does it contain the wording as intimated by pinkshoes and is it signed by all parties and witnessed ?   If not I would simply ignore them.

Either way refuse becoming anyone's guarantor moving forward no matter who is asking unless they make having a slave legal again. Unless you literally own a human being that you are paying for you will never know how they are going to behave and it will be absolutely and completely legal. It is extremely legal for a child to have a parent as guarantor and then simply to cease paying rent. The parent then has to indefinitely pay rent and cannot stop this. There is no legal way out of this and if you get into an argument with your child the authorities will side with them and you will continue to pay. It is a very silly and outdated system that should be abolished.

I'll be honest, this is something that this particular family member has asked me a lot to do in the past, to which I have refused every single time. Which is why I'm so surprised that I must have agreed to do this. I'm far from well off and have never had any sort of income to support being a guarantor, no matter how important that person is to me. In addition to that, I'm also surprised as my then husband wouldn't have agreed with me being a guarantor for them either.

saajan_12

cp33c said:

I was explaining to a few friends what's happened and the next thing I know a solicitor that they know has offered to send them a letter to the landlord.

In terms of the wording, I obviously didn't read pinkshoes comment correctly as it's just hit me what they meant. Here is the wording of the signature page:

"The Landlord or the Landlord's Agent sign this agreement to confirm acceptance of the terms within it and in accordance with Statutory Instrument 2007 No. 797 Regulation 2(1)(g)(vii), the Landlord certifies that the information provided about the Tenancy Deposit Protection prescribed information is accurate to the best of his knowledge and belief; and that the Tenant has had the opportunity to sign this document containing the information provided by the Landlord, by way of confirmation that the information is accurate to the best of the Tenant's knowledge and belief.

Signature(s) of Landlord(s) - Signed

The Tenant signs this agreement to confirm acceptance of the terms within it and in accordance with Statutory Instrument 2007 No. 797 Regulation 2(1)(g)(vii)(bb), the Tenant confirms that the information provided about the Tenancy Deposit Protection prescribed information is accurate to the best of the Tenant's knowledge and belief.

Signature(s) of Tenant(s) - Both signed
Signature of Witness - Signed
Name of Witness - Name provided
Address of Witness - Address provided
Signature of Guarantor - My signature
Signature of Witness - Signed
Name of Witness - Name provided
Address of Witness - Address provided
Signature of relevant person - Unsigned

PLEASE NOTE: SHOULD YOU WISH TO CONTINUE YOUR TENANCY A NEW AGREEMENT MUST BE SIGNED. THE RENEWAL FEE FOR 6 OR 12 MONTHS IS £75.00 PLUS VAT"

That is the entirety of the signature page. 

Okay so it was witnessed. Does it say "Deed" anywhere? 

I'd also expect it to say something about what payments you're covering - I don't think just calling you a guarantor is sufficient, but debatable. 

I'd ask them for the guarantee paperwork, as you don't have that in your records, and the paperwork quoted above doesn't state what you're responsible for. That way you know how good their evidence is before deciding whether to risk court. 

Note the point about needing a new agreement is largely irrelevant - that seems to refer to a new tenancy agreement not a new guarantee.