Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think its stupid that a guarantor *needs* to be a UK homeowner??

71 replies

PeachyParisian · 17/07/2014 01:16

Hopefully DH and I will be moving to the UK this autumn and we are trying to organise rented accommodation in advance.

I will be studying and DH will be unemployed initially which means our options are really very limited. I have found a landlord that is happy with student tenants but requires a guarantor to be a UK homeowner.

My DM, who is the only person I can ask to be our guarantor, does not own her own home. She us definitely in a financial position to be able to cover our rent, if we could not, which is the usual criteria. DHs parents do own their own home, but not in the UK and they are not in a position to cover our rent if we defaulted anyway.
We fully intend to pay our own rent, and can definitely afford to but this is slightly trickier to prove!

I understand a landlord needs to be sure they will get the rent, but I think the homeowner thing is absolute bollocks! especially considering fewer and fewer people can afford to own their homes/choose not to.

What can I do? I have asked if they have an alternative financial/minimum income requirement the guarantor can meet and I would pay for a landlords insurance policy if necessary. I desperately do not want to move back to England without anywhere to live and this house seems so perfect for us Sad We had hoped that landlord direct would be easier as estate agents in North Yorkshire don't seem to want to touch students with a barge pole, regardless of the fact that I am a 'mature' student!

OP posts:
CrimeaRiver · 17/07/2014 01:22

How do you expect any landlord to be able to enforce the guarantee from the guarantor? Doing a bespoke guarantee for each tenant would be prohibitively expensive for you. Income statements don't mean anything: who knows what the outgoings are? You will need to find someone who is a homeowner, this may well mean asking family to call in favours.

Note that homeowner doesn't mean that the person has no mortgage. Even a mortgaged property will do (mostly).

Joysmum · 17/07/2014 01:26

If you are in a position to, offer to prepay the first 6 months.

Original poster
PeachyParisian · 17/07/2014 01:36

But I just don't understand how being a homeowner proves the ability to pay the rent either? That doesn't show income and outgoings. How does a landlord usually have to enforce a guarantee? How is it any easier when the guarantor is a homeowner?
Absolutely everyone we know rents, so that really isn't an option unfortunately.

We might be able to prepay the first 2-3 months, I'll ask if that would work. I suppose the LL would still want a guarantor though...

OP posts:
Andrewofgg · 17/07/2014 01:40

In fact many landlords want somebody who has been a homeowner for ten years and therefore probably has some equity. Put yourself in the LL's shoes and you will see why.

As for students: I appreciate that mature students are another matter but in general I think we all know why they are bad news!

Andrewofgg · 17/07/2014 01:45

OP I will spell it out. If the LL has to sue the guarantor and gets judgment - how to enforce it?

Easy if it's a homeowner with equity. Charging order against the home, which secures the debt and can if the amount justifies it he enforced by sale.

Otherwise very difficult.

Which us why now that my son is out of student days I will never be a guarantor again!

Original poster
PeachyParisian · 17/07/2014 01:56

I understand completely why a LL needs to be sure that a tenant can pay the rent. I do not think it is fair that a homeowner guarantor is required though. It's never going to get to the point where my DM would need to pay the rent, but obviously that's meaningless for me to say that to the LL.

How on earth does anyone rent without a homeowner guarantor? I can't blame EE or LLs for not wanting to rent to students, but surely mature students shouldn't be lumped in with them?

OP posts:
RitaConnors · 17/07/2014 02:01

You have to pay as much as you can up front. That's what we did when we moved overseas. Once you have doe that the first time, it's not such a problem if you need to rent again as you have shown that you have done it the first time.

Morloth · 17/07/2014 02:15

Yep, pay upfront.

They want UK homeowner so that they can dip into a house if necessary to get their money.

We didn't know anyone when we moved to the UK so paid 6 months rent up front.

Was painful but them the breaks when you move countries.

Andrewofgg · 17/07/2014 02:22

Fair?

This is a private business transaction between individuals. Neither has a duty to be fair to the other in deciding whether to enter into it.

CrimeaRiver · 17/07/2014 02:45

Fair?? To whom? To the landlord who has earned enough to put down a deposit on a second home with a mortgage, who gets a tenant in who stops paying her rent, leaving the landlord unable to pay the mortgage on the house and unable to kick the tenant out either?

Or do you mean, really, that it's not fair that some people have a lot when others don't?

If the former, I say go figure. If you mean the latter, I'm totally with you. But unfortunately that's not the way of the world.

SiennaBlake · 17/07/2014 02:51

Lots of councils have some sort of bond scheme where they act as a guarantor. Not sure how it works because I've never used one but there's another option for some people.

NadiaWadia · 17/07/2014 02:58

Seems quite rigid and silly to insist on the guarantor being a 'home owner' as if that automatically makes you a good bet. You could, for example, be a home owner with massive debts on the brink of bankruptcy, or a renter with a stable job or business who has squillions in the bank.

We are renting ourselves at the moment and DH also recently needed to be a guarantor for DD's student house. The forms didn't even ask if he was a home owner. Just about employment I think. Lucky for us, I guess!

violetbunny · 17/07/2014 03:00

Been in this situation before. We got around it by offering to pay for landlords insurance which would cover them if we defaulted on rent etc

Billygoats · 17/07/2014 04:40

crimeariver not all landlords own a second home. Some have to rent out and are renting themselves elsewhere due to work commitments.

I can see your annoyance OP but not everyone will be as reliable as you. Its a slippery slope if a ll agrees a tenancy with somebody who is going to cause problems later on.

marcopront · 17/07/2014 04:43

They do checks on the homeowner. When I rented my stepmother acted as a guarantor, she had bought the house before she married my Dad and was contacted about the change of name and had to send her marriage certificate.

Lumineer · 17/07/2014 05:09

We had a similar situation when we moved to Australia and paid up front for 6 months. After we found jobs it was fine.

If you can just get together the initial cash that would be a big help. Once you've paid it and forgotten about it, it's really nice not having the monthly outlay for a bit!

ConstableOdo · 17/07/2014 05:14

I fucking hate the feudal nightmare the UK has become.

Andrewofgg · 17/07/2014 05:18

ConstableOdo And a ll wanting some security for the payment of the rent is feudal because . . .

Do tell!

Andrewofgg · 17/07/2014 05:20

ConstableOdo And a ll wanting some security for the payment of the rent is feudal because . . .

Do tell!

ConstableOdo · 17/07/2014 05:22

If I wanted to address the actual issue the OP raised rather than making a general point, I'd have mentioned the actual issue the OP raised. But I didn't.

Teadrinkerandatinker · 17/07/2014 05:28

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

oohdaddypig · 17/07/2014 05:33

It is not fair, no. But it's often the only way a LL can enforce the guarantee. A guarantee is worthless without assets behind it.

I would offer to pay rent up front.

Chopchopbusybusy · 17/07/2014 05:39

I am a guarantor for my student DD. The form I completed asked for name address and signature. Maybe you should try another agent as they don't all appear to insist on the guarantor being a home owner.
Wow teadrinker, really? You know nothing of the OPs circumstances. In fact given that she refers to moving back to England there is every chance she is English.

ConstableOdo · 17/07/2014 05:41

To offer some sensible advice rather than just swearily raging about the UK's bonkers housing market like I have done for the last ten years, I agree with others that paying the rent up front is pretty much the only way you can go (if you can negotiate that). If your DM is able and willing to help you with the initial outlay, that would be good - you make it sound like she's reasonably comfortably off.

I also think the situation will improve as soon as your husband finds employment.

ConstableOdo · 17/07/2014 05:42

I would also agree with Chopchop - I don't think the insistence on home ownership is universal, although I do suspect it is widespread.

Swipe left for the next trending thread