Is it now the norm for landlords to require guarantors for tenants in graduate jobs?

[MadridMadridMadrid]

Question as per thread title really. Prompted by a thread on WIWIKAU on which someone commented that even after your DC have graduated and has got a full-time job, it will be impossible for them to rent anywhere if Mum and/or Dad don't agree to be guarantors on the tenancy. DS graduated this year. He's currently living at home, but it's well within the bounds of possibility that he might move elsewhere and look to rent, so I'm just wondering what others' experiences have been. NB I know that the London rental market is crazy these days, so would be grateful if any responses could say whether you are talking about London or elsewhere.

Two graduate offspring, one renting in Cambridge and one in the northwest. We haven't been asked to be guarantors for either, but the one in the northwest was asked for six months' rent up front. The other had to provide salary, credit score and bank balance.

Thanks for the replies. It's interesting that it's a mixed picture that doesn't necessarily seem to follow how tough the rental market is for tenants in a particular area.

Can I ask what level are the conditions of becoming a guarantor? Do you have to have a certain income? Or can you prove savings or just be a homeowner?

I am not sure there is a specific decision. For me the referencing agency (used by London estate agents like Foxtons) comes up with a recommendation. So I have three boys in one flat, one of whom needed a guarantor. It would have been a combination of income (he was largely commission based) and length of time in employment (he had just started) and possibly previous letting history. All well. A guarantor based not on income but on an accountants letter confirming large deposits in the Isle of Mann sufficed. It did not stop the boy claiming poverty when I suggested a rent increase after two years of holding the rent steady.

I don't mean everyone should have deposits in the Isle of Mann (!) but that the people making the decision will consider a range of factors. I have 4 sharers in another property, all actors and musicians. One is very successful, as in lead in popular TV drama. They signed up to different shares of the rent. So one, who is still trying to make it, was only referenced for £250 pcm. In practice they all pay a quarter. I don't care. They are all joint and severally liable.

Most landlords I assume will be guided by reference companies. Landlord insurance would insist on it, and there was ever a default and the tenant had previously failed referencing, the court would not show a landlord much sympathy.

We have had to be guarantor for DS’s rent - he’s renting in North London and has a graduate job.

DD asked the letting agent if they would like a guarantor for her house in Birmingham but they said no! We were surprised as it was her first job after graduating. They only asked for the usual one month deposit.