Expected to be guarantor for halls?

[ThisMustBeMyDream]

My son has applied for halls today and paid a deposit. He then tells me he has put my name down as guarantor afterwards! I'm furious with him, but that can be dealt with later.
Right now I am very concerned as I can not be his guarantor. I am not anywhere near in a financial position to find £600 a month if he messes up. I have younger children to consider, so can not be guarantor. I asked the only person I could think of who it wouldn't affect (my dad) and he said an outright no.
So can my son not go to uni without a guarantor? I've been naive here, but I didn't expect this. He is almost 20, and earns good money whilst at college. He has more disposable income than me by miles. I was assuming that they would look at his income (which is currently 15k pa. working 24 hours pw. He will drop to 10k pa plus student loan of 9k so will have a higher over all income next year) but it seems they just do this automatically.
Can anyone advise?

OP, they don't ask for this year's income, so don't worry about that £96 just yet.
Glad the guarantor thing is sorted.

No I know, he's safe for this year! But yr 2, not so much! Can't find much about pension. Only private pension. Mine is NHS 🤷‍♀️

@TizerorFizz he currently has a 2mx2m bedroom, I don't think small bedrooms exist. And one bathroom/toilet between us all. I'd have thought anything else would have been a luxury, but no. Apparently not! I've attached a photo of what he has booked!

@ThisMustBeMyDream
Vauxhall? I know this area fairly well as DD isn’t so far away.

No, near the cathedral. It's my hometown, so I'm glad he is going there as it will feel familiar to me. He will be able to look out at the radio city tower that his great grandad worked on construction on, which also makes me smile.

I think this is fairly typical. We are guarantors for our son's uni accommodation. He has a student loan and his rent payments become due when his loan payments come in so he ensures that is paid first and he has the remainder of the loan to spend as he chooses.

I think it’s fairly common for their to be some conflict between parents and kids re accommodation choices.

The trouble these days is all the choice. Of course the shiny new stuff and en suites look attractive and the older university accommodation without en-suite, which is a bit shabby (but often better located) doesn’t look quite so appealing. They can become obsessed about double beds and new facilities and their grasp of finances can be limited. They seem to fear they won’t make friends if they’re not in the most expensive or best accommodation.

These private halls do play on fears….wanting people to sign up too early before ucas has even made all the offers or firm choices accepted. They are naive 18 year olds and get drawn in very easily.

I guess the key message is don’t sign up for anything unless parents have checked it through. And to understand legal contracts which commit you to at least deposits, and quickly to longer term rent.

Op, I’d have another go at asking him to consider the finances longer term. The fact is, he can pull out now and lose £100. That’s better than the longer term higher cost and need for a guarantor in your situation.

He won’t be the first or last to have thoughtlessly signed up for something and later had at least some sense it was a foolish move. That balance between being independent and seeing advice and listening to parents who often know more is a hard one.

I got the wrong city earlier. Some of the Downing accommodation has 8 bedrooms for friends sharing. Did he go for this? Was that the urgency? I’ve also checked where DN lived. It was Uni owned accommodation and about the cheapest. Still £147 per week with shared bathroom. Liverpool doesn’t have cheap accommodation! My DDs old half board catered accommodation at Bristol is now £6990. But at least the food is included. Shared room and bathrooms though. Non shared is quite a bit more.,

Wait until next year OP when most student housing insists on covering the rent if one of the students drop out!

I have taken out an insurance with Guarantor Insure to cover that @MrsPelligrinoPetrichor. If any of DD's flatmates decided to drop out now I wouldn't be liable for their rent. I would still be liable for DD's rent if she decided to drop out though.

OP, London is a whole different balls game, and very different from, say, residential owner/occupier property. Much of the very central private accommodation is aimed at overseas students (don't forget some Universities are up to 70% overseas). Parents put a high value on safety.

Many London Universities guarantee first year accommodation. They will have a mix of the expensive, because they have a market for that, and cheaper. As Wombat suggests this is often scruffy but well located. University accommodation often does not open till late as they will not want to disadvantage those students still waiting for offers.

I would suggest he seek university accommodation as he is more likely to meet his people. (Studying overseas can be overwhelming for overseas students. Think away from home for the first time, and in a different country/culture and in a huge city. For the first couple of terms some will naturally seek support from those from the same background.) Whether private or university owned he should aim, ideally for accommodation owned by his University, and then accommodation owned by University of London. Some private halls will have a complete mix of people doing UG, PG and professional courses. UK students often head for the cheapest available. This is perfect as he should then meet more frugal friends who can share with the following year.

He loses £100. It is a learning experience. Like checking the inventory at the start and cleaning his second year flat at the end of the tenancy so he does not lose his deposit. At this point parents can't tell their DC what to do, but can use their greater life experience to mentor. You sort of want to get to a point where they ask for advice, which they may or may not follow.

If you haven’t signed a tenancy agreement as guarantor, you’re not a guarantor.

AAA @MrsSkylerWhite
The DS has now found a guarantor. Hopefully this will continue for future years.

Actually £600 a month is about the going rate for Liverpool but a guarantor could have been avoided. But stick with it now.

That’s part of your child going to Uni surely? As others have said you’re furious but he can’t magic other people out of thin are to do it. If you’re concerned ask him to pay the rent payment to you to keep safe until he needs to pay it the day he gets his loan. I think you’re over reacting and being unreasonable to him. Expecting your dad to risk it but not willing to support your child in Uni in this way, not very fair

I think, from what the OP has said (Northern city - 'radio city tower') that we are talking about Liverpool, not London, here?

@RampantIvy

I have taken out an insurance with Guarantor Insure to cover that *@MrsPelligrinoPetrichor*. If any of DD's flatmates decided to drop out now I wouldn't be liable for their rent. I would still be liable for DD's rent if she decided to drop out though.

I had no idea that was an option!

Sorry, I got confused by the mention of Vauxhall.

@Darbs76 My dad owns 2 properties in UK, and another rich European country. Worth a couple of million. Plus he has cash savings, pensions, investments etc. Forgive me for thinking that a very rich man would want to help.

www.guarantorinsure.co.uk/ for anyone who requires this. It was recommended on the WIWIKAU Facebook page.

He can put you down as a guarantor, but unless you sigh to say you accept the implications that come with it, you are not liable if he defaults.
Have you signed any paperwork to say you accept liability for the rent as a guarantor?

This

The above was my concern - the son might ruin his life if he has forged parental consent on a deed of guarantee although hopefully he has not gone that far yet. This is why before mine even started I told them I would not be a guarantor well in advance so they were sure.

When they move to private rented, how do you avoid being a guarantor? Unless you buy them a property of course.

In my case I paid their rent and they asked their father to be the guarantor. Another option a client of mine did was pay his child's 12 months of rent up front - landlords are often happy with that instead. Some will agree each parent simply guarantees their child's part of the rent and when and if there are loads of properties to let out and not enough students (very very rare that currently happens) then landlords can be less strict.

My oldest child rented in years 2 and 3 from a fellow student whose parent had bought him a house in the Blair era (at about the same time as the Blair family were buying flats for their sons at university)

Overseas students rarely have guarantors. They manage in the ways that Xenia suggests. Or by using a guarantor company.