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

We don't have set terms - I now realise guarantors must have a different role than they do here

Can't be binding then because all I did was pop her name down and nothing was ever signed - it was a formality

The estate agent was talking nonsense - of course you can have a fixed-term tenancy agreement beyond 12 months if that's what you and the tenant want (a quick look at the NRLA website would have told you this). I would have challenged the EA and asked them what they meant by a longer AST not being "legally enforceable".

So, who would pay the rent then if your circumstances change and you can't?

true,

And end up not being able to get the amount they need for the mortgage as it is only on 1 income rather than joint?

Moving out makes no difference. You (or your guarantor) are on the hook for the rent for the entirety of the tenancy agreement unless your LL agrees to terminate your tenancy early.

I would say someone that is newly self employed is probably the highest risk there is of defaulting. Most new businesses don't make it past the first year and the ones that do probably don't break even until year 2 at least.

This is the sort of example I use too

But it can be worse, each guarantor, if the house is rented via joint tenancy, is liable for the rent of the house, any one of those girls could also default and each guarantor needs to pay up, it doesnt matter if it wasnt your daughter, she is a joint tenant and therefore jointly liable for the rent, if the other 3 girls cant cover it, or theres a gap getting someone new in, guess who pays up

Awful awful situation and parents need to be saying no.

Huge red flags for him as a potential husband.
He puts his family before you,
He lies by omission to you
He does not involve you in financial decisions ie does not see you as his equal partner.

Don’t marry him at the moment and tell him why. He would have to work hard to undo these.

No doubt you being the financial parent in your relationship has given him the message that you will provide.

If that is a dynamic you want in marriage crack on.
It certainly wouldn't be my idea of marriage.
Unbalanced, unequal and and gives him the option to continue not to grow up.

No adult with an ounce of cop on signs up to guarantee the rent of anyone when they live with a home owner, and haven't a pot to piss in themselves.

A potentially feckless idiot does it.
No way would I marry someone like that.

I love and value myself too much to do something so foolish.

I also don't find financially feckless people the least bit attractive.

Being the only adult in a relationship gets old SO quickly I can tell you.

This is a really warning to you that you would be foolish to ignore.

Maybe they couldn't afford to be guarantor. Unless you have the means to hand over several thousand pounds at short notice that you will never get back then nobody should be a guarantor for anyone. Being unable to pay if need be can completely ruin someone financially.
I was guarantor for my child through uni only because I had the equivalent of a years rent in an isa. I would not have done it if that money was not there. I just wouldn't have been able to afford ut had anything gone wrong

Your mum would not have been your guarantor unless she signed an agreement to be so. You cannot make someone your guarantor without their knowledge and agreement (unless you did so fraudulently and forged her signature on the guarantor agreement).

The thing that would get me is why do they need to upsize at the same time as taking a risky career move??

Both myself and my husband would probably want to help our respective sisters in this situation, and the other would probably go along with it. I understand why you are hesitant though.

I co-signed (same thing) for some friends for some new furniture once.
They had a brand new infant and nothing to sit on.
Everything was fine until I got a letter in the mail telling me that “you haven’t paid your monthly payment in three months…”
I called them and told them I was taking over the payments and coming to get the furniture.
I didn’t want the furniture, but no fucking way was I paying to furnish somebody else’s home.
Lesson learned.

They might be solvent today, but tomorrow - who knows? Anything could happen: accident, illness, unemployment, whatever. I would be absolutely livid if my partner took on this level of risk without consulting me.

Never guarantor unless you can afford to lose the money

Exactly this - and OP's said that not only does he not have the money but that he's likely to understand little of the risk he's exposing them both to if they married

Worse still he may well be relying on OP's own house to bankroll this generosity, which it appears he has a history of

Sorry OP but I'd be leaving him - not just due to the risk but because he's putting his own family's interests above yours

Edited to add that, if he thinks pulling out will damage his relationship with his family, try what would happen if they defaulted ...

It isn't about the family member's reliability as a rent-paying tenant; it really isn't. None of us knows what the future holds and anything could happen - what if your sister had an accident and was physically unable to work? This is a serious legal undertaking and the only question you should be asking yourself is "If they can't pay their rent for the duration of the tenancy, can I afford to in addition to my own expenses?".

I agree. I think don't think many people realise they are allowed to say no though.

My friend was in a very tricky situation about 8 or 9 years ago, after her DH lost his well paid job 3-4 years before - and she was in ill health. Her daughter asked her to be a guarantor for a house that her and 3 other girls were moving into (when at Uni.) My friend said no. Basically because she couldn't. Her and her DH's finances were a bit shaky, they had debt that they were dealing with, and she and her DH had almost zero surplus income.

Her daughter begged her, and she said 'no, I can't ... I couldn't if I wanted to - me and your dad have no surplus income to pay if anything goes wrong. And we have nearly sorted our debt problem, and our credit rating is on the up, so we don't want to wreck it again.'

The landlady let her DD into the house with the other 3 with no guarantor amazingly. And then she went on to default on the rent, after spending all her money on parties and fancy clothes and tattoos, and ended up £1800 in debt within 3 months. She was in tears on the phone to my friend begging her to help with the rent.

But my friend had literally got like £25 spare at any one time in the bank. so she couldn't help. She says if she had gone on to be the guarantor she would have ended up with a demand to pay nearly £2000 - when she didn't even have £200 surplus income a year. As the months went on she could have ended up owing even more...

Big mistake to agree to be your DC's guarantor unless you really have got a lot of surplus income. I'm talking probably mid five figures per month to spare.

This is why l was wondering if he has a financial interest in the house. He doesn’t have to be on the mortgage if he’s named on the deeds.

ChampagneLassie · Today 20:55

"For me this is what family is about .....". So if you were called upon to pay a family member's rent to the tune of £1000's you'd just suck it up?
I've seen three families destroyed by this and it certainly is NOT "what family is about."

Depends on whether he has an interest in the property. He may not be paying the mortgage but could be on the deeds.

Does he pay his way in your house? Or is he effectively being subsidised by you to support his family? I don’t mind generous but I am totally opposed to mooching off you so he can be generous with other people.

I wouldn’t marry him while he is a guarantor. He is putting your house at risk.