Fiancé has agreed to be a Guarantor - I’m not happy

Is there a reason why you didn't take her to Small Claims Court?

All of this.
Unfortunately some women can't be told.
They plough ahead and life bites them on the arse.
They then post that YES they did ignore lots of red flags.🙄

I think he likes to be Billy Big Bollixs.
Why wouldn't he, he has found a woman with a house that he has moved into.
He has landed on his feet without having a pot to piss in.

Guaranteeing the home of family when he can't pay for his own.
He's an idiot.

I would be absolutely horrified if my daughter had such poor judgement to join finances and put her own security in the hands of such a twit.

Unfortunately it sounds like the OP will have to learn the hard way.

If this mystery guatentor falls flat, couldn't they offer 6 months rent up front? You could offer to lend them 3 months. If they haven't got the 3 months of savings then it's perfectly reasonable reason why you can't be their guarantor.

These guatentor agreements are awful. It's something friends and family are happy to do until they actually read contracts which are terrifying and run in perpetuity with no way for you to ever take yourself off the contract. Best friend was in same boat, agent deliberately didn't send agreement until day of move. In the end, after reading I declined and suggested I pay 6 months of rent upfront for friend to pay me monthly. 2 years later have not received a penny and so called 'friend', never saw them again. Though I lost 6 months rent, cutting ties with a draining friend was been the best outcome possible!

Most tenancy agreements are now done online as are the guarantor agreements, there's probably emails confirming everything so I would definitely want an email to say he is no longer a guarantor.

I wouldn’t be taking his word for anything at this stage - l think he’s bullshitting because he’s got himself into something he can’t back out of and the implications are only just dawning on him

Exactly, @Rosscameasdoody
I really hope to be wrong here, but strongly suspect there's a lot more yet to be revealed and none of it in OP's favour

If he's already signed the contract as guarantor, they could already use it? Just because he's verbally withdrawn, doesn't mean he's no longer guarantor. He'd need to see the new contract and rip up the old one.

💯

OP do you believe him that someone else has been found and that he is being removed, or is it more likely he went over to DS and DBIL blamed you for giving him grief over this and they have just told him to tell you a mystery someone else has signed and everything is fine?

I wouldn't trust them I'm sorry to say, and I would be taking a heck of a lot longer to get past this, he has gone behind your back to agree to something that could impact your financial future.

This. OP, your DF needs to move fast. He signed the documents - it's out of his hands if his sibling is going to use him as a guarantor or not.

Your DF needs to contact a solicitor covering the area of Property Law, tomorrow. He can't wait, expecting the best outcome, when he's already signed the documents.

And that it was the original he signed and not just a copy

https://fraserbond.com/blog/article/how-to-remove-yourself-as-a-guarantor-on-a-rental-property-in-the-uk-b7250#:~:text=Communicate%20with%20the%20landlord%2Fletting,guarantor%20for%20the%20rental%20property. This might have some useful information as a starting point.

He needs to find out who the landlord is. It will be the landlord who agrees whether or not to terminate the guarantee.

He has signed the document. He may now be legally bound, and can’t just pull out. He needs to understand exactly what has happened to the document he has signed, and what steps are needed in order for it to be terminated. Getting hold of a copy of the document he signed, and details of the agent are the next step.

I’d be getting your fiancé to contact the agent as soon as it opens this morning to officially withdraw his consent. I know what has been said but it may be too late already.

workworkbloodywork · Yesterday 19:47

they apparently have someone else that has agreed to do, I have asked him to see if he can get any confirmation to say that they are not going to use him as the guarantor as he had signed the document but they supposedly have someone else foolish enough to agree to be it instead.

Holy crap! You realise they're going to screw him over, don't you? He needs to Whats App them, asking for confirmation that they won't use him and ask for a copy, then screenshot it.

I assume he knows who the agent is? He should get in touch and tell them he's out.

Why are they upsizing now? Also I think it's rather sly of them not to make clear the implications when they first asked and then later not to give the document back. Although your DH should have course checked himself as well. Being a guarantor is no small thing; my parents refused for me when I was younger and I don't blame them tbh.

Oh jeez, it's gone from being a great update to a shit next update. He's signed already, he needs to get straight to the letting agent and put in writing that he's rescinding it. I don't know how this works, but he may need to see a solicitor to help him get released from this. He did not understand what he was signing, I'm fairly sure that's a legal reason for being able to get out of a contract in contract law, but really he needs legal advice ASAP.

I get that the BIL would be pissed off, but really, I find it really odd that they are upsizing at the same time as him going self-employed, unless of course he needed a place with a workshop or something.

"So it sounds as though ‘another guarantor’ at this point isn’t viable and the fiancé is still liable."
Not necessarily. At this point we have no idea if the terms of the guarantee are held within the DS/BIL's tenancy agreement or under a separate document. If the latter, and they haven't yet submitted it to the letting agent/landlord, they can simply tear it up as if it never existed (or they can return it to OP's DF for him to do which will also give him the absolute reassurance they're not using it). OP's DF needs to move fast though (assuming it's not already too late and they've already passed it to the LA/LL).

I would say a high chance they may not be able to afford their rent when one of them has just gone self employed. I would be asking why? Have they been sacked? If it a new business and if so is there any evidence it is viable.

Potentially the fiance has scuppered their chances of getting a mortgage !

... the tenancy has to be brought officially to an end to release the guarantor.

Not necessarily true. This depends on what the guarantee agreement says or what is agreed verbally. Many guarantee agreements are open-ended and will refer to liability 'under this tenancy/agreement'. This means that liability could extend beyond the fixed period, to any extension, as well as to certain changes such as rent increases. However, the guarantee agreement could state the liability exists only for the length of the fixed term. [Source: Citizens Advice]

Normally the guarantor signs the guarantee section of the tenancy agreement at the same time as the tenants. Once that’s signed by all parties it’s a legally binding contract. If it’s a separate deed of guarantee, then the guarantor normally signs it before the tenancy agreement is signed. Once the deed of guarantee is signed it binds the tenant into the tenancy agreement even before they sign - neither party can back out at this point.

Even more concerning is that under English contract law, a contract can be verbal, implied and confirmed by the conduct of the parties involved, so there wouldn’t even be the need for a written and signed tenancy agreement, if the main terms had been agreed and the personal guarantor had been accepted. So it sounds as though ‘another guarantor’ at this point isn’t viable and the fiancé is still liable. I wouldn’t be taking his word for anything at this stage - l think he’s bullshitting because he’s got himself into something he can’t back out of and the implications are only just dawning on him.

Ooh, crikey OP, NOT so good! 😱 I would suggest your fiance follow up his meeting with DS and BIL with a WA, text or email saying something along the lines of:
"I'm really sorry to have upset you, but I didn't realise what a serious undertaking being a guarantor was until I did some research and I simply wouldn't have the funds to bail you out, for any length of time, if you were unable to pay your rent (which, of course, I know you wouldn't want to default on but none of us knows what the future could hold). Therefore, would you please return the signed document to me so I can destroy it."
This would make it clear he's PROMPTLY rescinded his agreement - I assume they haven't yet passed this signed guarantee on to the letting agent/landlord and moved in and so he will have rescinded it BEFORE they've been able to use it?
As an aside, the people telling you to dump him, he's shown disdain for you, etc., are being harsh and I really don't think there's any need to be so hard-line. It's like they think people can never learn from their mistakes (but so many of us do!). Yes, he should have waited until you got home before steaming ahead, but he's since listened to you, back-tracked, and taken the heat from his DS (not so much) and BIL (rather a lot). I think this is the perfect spring-board for the future to ensure you make JOINT decisions about finances going forward (I think, if he's able to get the signed agreement back, he'll remember what a lucky escape he had). Good luck!

I have asked him to see if he can get any confirmation to say that they are not going to use him as the guarantor as he had signed the document

Dear god ...

Best hope this "other person who's prepared to do it" really exists, OP, and it's not just a smokescreen so that when if it turns out they've used him he can say "Ooooo it's a misunderstanding; I thought it was going to be someone else"

@workworkbloodywork i think your finance lying to you. I’ve just looked it up - you can’t get out of an guarantor arrangement unless the rent agreement has come to an end, or the landlord releases you.

Therefore he can’t just decide not to do it if he has already signed on the dotted line, and the other person who has agreed could actually be him!

Can you clarify whether he has signed t h e document or not?