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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

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Original poster

Student house guarantor problem

45 replies

clementinecake · 15/08/2017 12:40

My daughter is starting university next month and needs to rent a 1 bedroom flat. The university she is going to has extremely limited halls availability which is also very expensive.

Paying the rent is not a problem as it will be paid upfront. I thought that this would avoid having a guarantor but the letting agents still require one.

The problem is that I can't be her guarantor as my income is low and I don't have anyone else to ask.

Any suggestions or experience of what I can do?

OP posts:

Original poster

clementinecake · 15/08/2017 17:51

Thanks for all your replies.

Just to clarify if the rent is £700 a month the agents expect an income of 30 x that so 21k per annum.

Still don't know how to get around this problem. Grandfather doesn't earn enough so presume he will not be able to be her guarantor. There is no other family to ask.

The only options I can think of is to offer a larger deposit say £2,000 instead of £1,000 to give the agents in case of any damage.

Or, ask a friend to be her guarantor. Obviously the rent will be paid upfront but don't know if a friend would be willing to do this. I would hate to make someone feel awkward if they didn't want to do it.

OP posts:

DottyDynamite · 15/08/2017 20:37

I had this problem. I needed to earn 30 times 1 month's rent, which I did, but I'm a contractor so I was still unacceptable as a guarantor for my DD. She was sharing, so the other parents acted as guarantors for the total. I hope you find a way round this. It made me very angry when it happened to me!!

AndTodayIAm · 15/08/2017 20:59

I've no advice but loads of sympathy for the situation. I've had to act as my DCs gaurentor from time to time. As my DC are jointly and severally (err not sure that the right word?) liable then that means I am too. We've even offered to pay the whole year up front but with no luck. A couple of times I've managed to annotate the forms i sign to say I'm only liable for DCs share but I'm not sure how legal that is.

I don't mind gaurenteeing my own D.C. but I loathe to gaurentee other people's even if it's indirectly.

Luckily we've not had any problems.

alreadytaken · 16/08/2017 09:32

some universities offer a service to their students, you can only ask. If all else fails there is this company www.housinghand.co.uk/partners/universities/

coriliavijvaad · 16/08/2017 09:42

I was initially thinking that if the landlords are insisting on a guarantor despite all rent being paid upfront then there is something dodgy going on.

However - where is this upfront rental money right now? Presumably it is currently sitting in a bank account waiting to be handed over - but at the moment when rental contracts are signed the landlord has no guarantee that this lump sum is going to be handed over. They are unwilling to risk that you could be asserting that the payment will be upfront but will go back on that once the tenancy paperwork is signed.

If this is the case, then ask them to add a clause to the guarantor paperwork which confirms that on receipt of a lump sum payment of £xxxx then all the guarantor's responsibilities under this contract are fully discharged. With such a clause, it would be OK to ask a more distant relative or friend who qualifies to be a guarantor as you could give them the lump sum, they then sign the paperwork, get the tenancy confirmed and hand over the lump sum, thus satisfying the landlord's needs at no financial risk to themselves.

Original poster

clementinecake · 16/08/2017 15:11

I have phoned Housing Hand today and they have said that if you pay the money upfront then a guarantor is not necessary. They suggested finding another letting agent. All very well but it seems to be common practice with the letting agents to still require a guarantor.

I presume that I would sign the paperwork and then pay the lump sum, then only once the lump sum is paid I would collect the keys.

OP posts:

IfYouGoDownToTheWoodsToday · 16/08/2017 15:52

Have you phoned them and told them all this? I would, they really shouldn't need a guarantor if you are paying upfront and also a deposit.

Original poster

clementinecake · 16/08/2017 16:58

Yes I have told them this, but they still say they need a guarantor.

OP posts:

AndTodayIAm · 16/08/2017 17:04

OP,

I've tried everything to get out of being a gaurentor but been unsuccessful. I thought offering a bigger than us usual deposit plus paying for the full year would be enough but apparently not - the agent was friendly and understanding but wouldn't budge. It's for a household of quiet PhD students who know each other well so low risk. The only consultation is that I trust my DCs trust in his housemates so hopefully everything should be ok.

Ta1kinPeece · 16/08/2017 17:07

Speak to the University and see what they say : Universities have all sorts of strings they can pull in such situations

HotelEuphoria · 16/08/2017 17:11

DD is in a major city in the north, I have never had to be a guarantor for her, the contract is between her and the landlord, I have signed nothing. They are fabulous landlords though and she has stayed in the same house for 3rd year. I would of course pay if there were any issues which there wont be.

I did have to be a guarantor for DS who went to Uni in the North East but I wasn't asked for income.

Maybe they are being stricter because it is not a house share and they have more to lose. If being a guarantor on a decent income was a deal breaker for getting student accommodation I would imagine there would be 1000s left without digs.

Scrumptiousbears · 16/08/2017 17:14

They mean 3 x the rent not 30 x the rent.

Needmoresleep · 16/08/2017 17:14

But only if the landlord or letting agency have links with the University. If the student is renting on the open market landlords will want reassurance that they are fully protected.

That said a guarantor and rent in advance sounds harsh. As a landlord I might want one or the other. And, depending on the tenants, might ask for a larger than normal deposit.

Lucysky2017 · 16/08/2017 17:49

clement, that sounds right to me. My son was handed the 6 months of rent in advance and only once he had it did the tenants move in. More than enough protection without a guarantor.
I can afford it but I don't want to be a guarantor particularly of all the rent in a whole house for not just my child but all the others which is often what is asked for. Would rather pay rent up front.

PinkCrystal · 16/09/2017 14:31

I couldn't do this for my older DC as we would have been homeless had I had to pay it. We simply found accom that didn't need it. Much more difficult in some areas. I feel it is unfair to ask parents to sign for adult children taking on potential debt after probably years of careful budgeting.

orecchietti · 16/09/2017 14:37

Scrumptious no, they mean that annual income must equal or exceed 30x the monthly rent. It's very standard, DH and I had to prove that's what we earned before we could pass referencing - it's not just a student flat thing.

BruceAndNoush · 16/09/2017 15:27

No they don't @Scrumptiousbears. Read the thread. Income must = 30 x monthly rent.

I think you'll have to find a new flat.

alreadytaken · 17/09/2017 20:10

unfortunately if you offer rent up front a lot of landlords consider it a sign you are setting up a cannabis factory and become keener on having a guarantor for damages.

In London requiring a guarantor to have an income of 30x rent is not unusual but what agents accept does vary quite a bit. If grandad is a homeowner with the mortgage paid off an a pension they may accept that.

It's worth knowing that enforcing guarantor agreements can actually be quite difficult, the one we signed this year would be totally unenforceable because we've never seen the contract.

Speak to helping hand again - say you'd rather pay their fee and not pay the rent up front.

BuggerOffAndGoodDayToYou · 20/09/2017 16:24

I signed as guarantor for DDs flat. I don't even earn enough to pay tax so certainly don't earn 30x the rent BUT we do own our own house outright. No one asked us about our house/mortgage/income though.

Oldie2017 · 20/09/2017 23:10

I wouldn't do it. My son's tenants paid 6 months up front instead of a guarantor and that was fine. Someone I know recently did the same for his daughter for her whole year's rent and someone elsei n the house had done the same and the landlord was happy with that - the whole year's rent is better protection than the hope of being able to sue a guarantor. If the letting agent does not accept it then they will have to find a different tenant.

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