£75k salary, landlord wants parents as guarantors

[Sadleaver]

I'm 35, earn £75k a year in a stable industry, as a permanent member of staff. I've been renting for 12 years and have glowing past landlord references. Excellent credit score.

Just agreed a new tenancy on a flat after a stressful 6 week hunt. It's £1250pm. Passed all the reference checks. And the letting agent is now asking for my PARENTS to be guarantors! I have to provide evidence of their income and it has to be above a certain amount. I'm honestly done with this bullshit. This is insane right?

Yup. My son was 42 when he was asked for a guarantor.

I hope some politicians and decision makers are reading this thread.

@VegetablesFightingToReclaimTheAubergieneEmoji

Yep, us too. Mind you it's why we always get somewhere very nice.

My guess would be the lack of agency might be your issue in attracting a wrong ‘un

And you want to keep it nice as it’s your home isn’t it.
it might be someone else’s house but it’s YOUR home.

@JogOn123 I think those of us who are great tenants and have been for a long while though tend to be going for the nicer places - there's a very big difference between somewhere that looks exactly as if you had bought it and renovated it very well (our current house is exactly like that) and somewhere that's had a lick of paint, cheap fixtures and fittings and thin carpet or a bit of cheap laminate.there's a lot of very poor quality rentals out there. I think you are 'more' prone to tenants not giving When we rented via one very posh agent, they didn't just go back to our current landlords but the ones before that too. (So about 5 years in all) - it really boils my piss when landlords and others who own places seem to think we are all scumbags and use expressions like ' in rented' as if you are some kind of lesser being - as far as I'm concerned whilst I'm here it's my home, I don't own it - but nor do I owe 90% of it to the bank.

Wow!! I wouldn't be able to get a mortgage loan in the current economy!! Thank GOD my house was passed down from my parents!!

I do have savings but I'd hate the fact I'd be fuelling more of this madness by paying 6 months up front. Also the rent is wildly inflated tbh, what else do they want from me - a 6 month lump sum now, what's next, my salary paid directly into their account? One of my kidneys?

I know it's all letting agent nonsense.. The landlord has recently moved to Germany and is renting it out while she's working there. I don't have any contact details for her yet.

@Nicklebox

We had to be guarantor for all our three children at the same time...

No-one HAS to be a Guarantor for ANYone ... not even their children. I have known a number of people refuse purely because they categorically could not afford to cough up if their children defaulted. No good being a Guarantor if you don't have the means to pay, should the person default...

Tactful

I wish the did as many checks on the Landlords as they do prospective tenants. Many years ago now DH and I rented a nice house, passed credit, reference and affordability checks etc. Agency then asked us for guarantor which we could not provide so instead agreed to 6 months upfront.

2 months into the tenancy a letter addressed to the occupiers arrived, opened it assuming it was something council or utility related, it was in fact notice of an impending repossession! Of course I spoke to the agency immediately who then said they had spoken to the landlord who said that it was an outdated automatic letter and that it had all since been sorted it was just a result of previous complications during marital split. I was repeatedly assured that there was no need to worry as the matter had been settled.

Just a few short weeks later DH and I had to rush home from work in the middle of the day as the house was indeed being repossessed. We were allowed just 30 minutes to remove our most needed and valuable possessions whilst all the locks were being removed and changed!!

Three weeks we had to pay to live in a hotel whilst we found somewhere to live, then we had to pay for yet another removal van to take our furniture from repossessed house to new house. Despite many attempts and legal battles with agency and landlord we did not get any of the upfront rent we had paid for back. The landlord contributed a meagre amount towards our hotel, but we were out of pocket by thousands and took us years to recover financially. Not one shiny shit was given by the agency or the landlord, it still boils my piss all these years later!!!

@Lillygolightly -- ah we had slightly similar- townhouse in South west London

Had been there 5 months (but unlike you hadn't paid up front) Accidentally opened a letter I thought was for us (same bank) and it was a letter saying landlords buildings insurance had been cancelled as not paid- rang alarm bells- contacted agent who said it was a mistake

Then started getting more mail that looked ominous so decided to open it after we had a baliff putting a note through door and clearly he hadn't been paying mortgage - ( banker too working in the USA)

We basically called agent (foxtons) who actually were very good and immediately said not to worry about terminating as soon as we found somewhere and refunded our deposit immediately so that we had the money to put down on somewhere else- we were out 3 weeks later!

As you say- as tenants we are made to jump through hoops but we have no idea of financials of landlords !!

Tell landlord to F off

I have lived in my rented house for 12 years, it's the landlord that can't afford to keep the place nice, never paid rent late but what can i do.
While i am paying my rent i can't save for another rental. The house is literally falling apart and needs a new roof. I don't have parents to help and will never buy while i am stuck in the renting trap. If anyone asks me for 6 months rent up front then i would be screwed.

Look for somewhere else, report them to Trading Standards for not telling you this at the very beginning. Not sure if the agent's lack of advertising this at least via their website comes under the jurisdiction of the Advertising Standards Authority.

Once you have done all this and have no more dealings, please if you feel comfortable and it would not put you in any danger, name the agent concerned.

I have known a couple of landlords who didn’t ask for a guarantee when their tenant was earning a high wage and ended up loosing a couple of months rent when they asked to have a months delay and pay extra over the following couple of months but just up and left by the end of the second month, and it costs too much to take them to court for this amount.

Totally and utterly rediculous. I would never be a guarantor for anyone

Doesn’t matter how much you earn it’s totally irrelevant you can still be an arsehole and still not pay
I think people are assuming it’s only poor people or the ones in minimum wage default on rent

Perhaps get in contactt to with your local MP to tell them op. This is the amount of power private landlords have unfortunately. Fucking bastard country that brought them back.

this is the best answer!!!!

MPs won't be any help in the fight against private landlords, lots of MPs have their wealth tied up in property and are landlords themselves.

Reply with a blunt "bothy parents are dead". That'll show 'em how ridiculous it is.

Can't you tell this landlord to stick his flat where the sun don't shine.

My brother is mid 40s and still living at home. He wanted to move out and rent somewhere but LL wanted parents guarantors and for them to be earning £2k per month minimum. Mum had sadly passed and Dad retired. Also, they wanted LL references. He didn't have any as had never moved out of family home. There's more people wanting to rent than places, so LL can ask for moon on a stick it seems. So he has been saving for past few years and hoping to buy a small place by next year.