AIBU not to be guarantor for DC?

[usermane]

DC is in first year at Uni, and currently trying to secure accommodation for next year.
He's found a studio flat and is planning to share it with his DP (also a student).
The rent is ~£14k a year(!) They can probably just about manage that between them, but neither one could afford that alone.
He's asked me to be a guarantor, but I am VERY uncomfortable with this. I can barely afford my own rent as it is... and I really don't want to risk getting into that kind of debt should things go wrong (i.e. they split up, one or both drop out, they piss all their rent money away etc.).
I feel horrible about it, but would I be unreasonable to tell him no?

@usermane

In addition to what I, and many others have said; signing as a guarantor is basically an open-ended agreement to cough up for whatever the landlord and letting agent sees fit....... The agreements are tailored to benefit the landlord and letting agent, but rarely the tenant, and NEVER the guarantor.

You could be forking out for multiple months of unpaid rent - (especially if your DS and his girlfriend split, and neither one wants to be responsible for the rent.) And also, if they have mates around, and they do any damage, to this 'snazzy joint in London,' (or if your DS and his girlfriend do it themselves,) there could be multiple 1000s of £££ extra for that too. (Which YOU will have to pay!)

Just say no.

What about all the bills utilies council tax-how are they affording all that?

a studio is a bad idea-me and dh looked at one before we got married decided it would be too cramped esp if he wa son night shifts

YANBU. Typically by being a guarantor to someone else renting, you'll be exposed to more liability than you might think. It's not just your child's rent, it's not even all the rent, it's potentially damages as well. That's up to and including the entire value of the property in the worst case scenario. And the landlord or their insurer can pursue whichever guarantor they like. If John drops a cigarette and sets the student house on fire, the landlord is fully entitled to demand Tim's mum pays up. (The legal logic is that the involved tenants and their guarantors are then expected to settle things between them.)

That won't always be the case - read the contract! - but it's the norm.

Do be aware, however, that by not acting as a guarantor you may be forcing your DC to quit their studies. That's the reality nowadays, the practice is nearly universal in student lettings.

I have been my kids guarantors (sp?) a few times. I usually alter the paperwork so I’m only agreeing to guarantee my own kids share before signing and returning it to the agency. So far none of the agencies have picked up on it even though I’ve made it very clear what I’ve done. I’ve also confirmed that I’m only acting as guarantor for my own child’s share (I specify it as 1/5th or whatever) in emails. I don’t actually know if it would hold up if it went to court but I think I was in with a chance. I’ve think I’ve done this on five or six occasions. Bugger me if I was going to agree to be responsible for other people.

The cheek of this student wanting to live in a snazzy studio even having the audacity to ask his parent to take all the risk of him splitting up with his gf/dropping out of studies/failing to pay his rent for whatever reason, is unbelievable.

It really isn't cheeky, it's unavoidable - it's almost impossible to rent anywhere as a student without a guarantor. There are (almost) no places in uni halls in London except for first years. £1200 pcm for 2 people (presumably including all bills as the private student accommodation usually does) is not too a bad deal in London. I doubt they will find anywhere for much less than that once you've added bills on to the rent. It is just about affordable on a London student loan budget.

For all those saying move out to zone 4/5, they then have the cost of travel. If they can find somewhere close enough to walk/cycle to lectures, that saves them £3k (for 2 annual travel cards).

It really is a very bad idea to be guarantor if they are sharing a room though. Does the DP have a guarantor? The main issue though is your DS will probably need a guarantor wherever they live. There are some possible alternatives:

1. Does the university have a guarantor scheme for students that cannot find a guarantor? (Some do)
2. There are private guarantor schemes as PPs have already advised. They aren't cheap but they can be paid monthly. Your DS can do the sums and decide if the accommodation is worth the extra cost/he can afford it.
3. The accommodation will accept payment of rent in advance (either the whole year or 6 months) in lieu of a guarantor. If the DP does the same for their half, the cost of a loan for £6k could be less than the cost of a private guarantor scheme, if you are able to get a loan and would do be happy to do that for your DS. Your DS should be able to get an interest free student overdraft (£2k with Nationwide) and their first student loan payment will come in when they move in so that will pay off a lot of the loan on day one. Presumably your DS will work in the summer too and be able to pay you back before the 2nd/3rd instalments of the loan. That would remove any risk of the DP not paying their share.

It really isn't cheeky, it's unavoidable - it's almost impossible to rent anywhere as a student without a guarantor.

Eh? Millions of students and young professionals rent rooms in shared houses without any guarantors.

But what is the DS supposed to do? He needs a garuntor to rent anywhere, even a shifty student room. Realistically in London you are looking at £500pm for a room regardless.

Everyone's parents in my day were a garuntors. Which was only about 3years ago!

Devereux I don't know any student who can rent without a garuntor. Young professionals yes, students no.

It's absolute cobblers that the OP's son and his girlfriend have 'no choice' other than to pay £600 EACH a month, in addition to water rates, council tax, electric, gas, etc etc etc.... just because it's LONDON.

There's plenty of rooms/flat shares in London for £400-£475 a month - INCLUDING ALL BILLS. And that would work out at around half of what the OP's son and his girlfriend is paying... Yep, in central London too.

The couple would be sharing with 3 or 4 others potentially, but so what?

The vast majority of people do this. And not just in London either! Very few people (especially young students) will be able to rent a place for just two!

They must be renting a palace for that price, my son lived in flea pits and HMOs to keep the costs down, or shred housing with other students and NEVER paid that much.
I think they need to lower their expectations drastically if they want you to be a guarantor - you are not in a position to fund their love nest.
I did act as a guarantor for the three years or he's not have been able to live anywhere and would not have been able to go to university without it.
However, he is being totally unrealistic, they cannot afford to live there and she needs to get her own guarantor, I don't see why you should fund both of them.

The university I work for had a rent guarantor scheme where the university will act as a guarantor for students if they don’t have an alternative. Your son’s uni may offer something similar?

I feel it's not being a guarantor that's the issue. A lot of landlords require guarantors for tenants without a secure, steady income.

It's the type of accommodation that these young people have set their eyes on that's the issue.

Let them share with others, as do most students and young professionals.

I think you have to qualify to be a guarantor. You have to be able to prove you can afford your rent/mortgage and theirs. This is what an estate agent told me (was looking to be guarantor for my sister) and I was only earning half of what I needed to be to act as guarantor. It’s unlikely they will accept you anyway.

Also, it’s not just rent you become liable for. It’s any damage, legal fees etc.

i wouldn't be a a guarantor for my dc even if they were working, way to risky and yes, i do love my dc but i wouldn't be prepared to potentially be made homeless for them.

I have one in uni now and one starting this coming fall. In the US universities provide their own student housing at reasonable rates, even in high rent areas like Boston and NYC, so I'm glad I don't have to make this choice.

YANBU. If at all possible pay the fee for the outside company to act as guarantor. Better they take the risks than you.

littlepaddypaws if your DC intend to go to uni/college will they have someone who they can ask to be a guarantor? Otherwise they will be a bit stuck. I'm presuming you don't have a big pot of funds for them if you are talking about being made potentially homeless.

@TigerOnATrain There's plenty of rooms/flat shares in London for £400-£475 a month - INCLUDING ALL BILLS. Yep, in central London too.

Really? Plenty? They exist but there aren't plenty. Having been through the London student property search with 2 DC, they would look on sites like spare room etc and the search would offer them 100 ads. But then you trawl through and find half of them are actually room shares (sharing a bedroom with a stranger), some of them are homeshares where you get subsidised rent for caring/cleaning duties, or they are Mon-Fri lets only, or short term lets, many of them don't accept students or have a minimum age of 21, and almost all of them want a guarantor for students.

theorig no mortgage and financially comfortable thank you, dc are all adults and out of uni, but thanks for being concerned, please send food parcels via mn

should add they all work but only part time at present so not a lot,

14k a year? What kind of a flat is this? I live in a v expensive university city in the SE, most expensive outside London and my 2 bed flat is £900 PCM. Granted it’s tiny and scrotty but it’s all I can afford, and I’m an adult with a child.

A LL wanted a guarantor for me despite me earning 37k - no social capital and no spare 6 months up front so that was that.

And that was with excellent prior refs from letting agency 😫

I declined being a guarantor for my DS and four other flat mates I had never met. DS was quite understanding as to why I declined. The letting agent thought I was being OTT. Another parent refused to be guarantor too which made me feel better.

DS managed to find another student house that did individual tenancies for each person.

@TigerOnATrain please share these central flatshares for that cost as I couldn't find any

I went to uni in London a few months ago and you got a good deal if you were paying 600-650 in rent (most people lived central ish) and prices are only going up.

I’m guarantor for my DD at uni but only for her portion of the rent. Are you able to get that written into the guarantor contract?