Accom Guarantors for 2nd yr

[RB68]

Is it still common practive to have all the parents of the students in an accom to guarantor the rent for the whole premises rather than just their child? Am looking at the documents sent to me (with 2 days notice) and to me it reads that I am liable for the full 6k plus a month if necessary - not just my child's portion. What are you finding out there - are you limiting it to just your child's rent - good mind to amend the document and send back signed limited to just her portion of the rent. I don't even know these folk never mind their kids and don't fancy paying rent, damages and outstanding bills for the lot of them.

Yeah, time to negotiate the contract. Don't agree to be a guarantor for the whole house.

I refused. I paid the rent and my ex husband guaranteed it - he had by far the better deal of course in practice as my children tended to rent with friends whose parents were quite well off so the guarantee was never called upon!
You may be able to offer to pay all the rent up front instead of the guarantee.

Our DD1 graduated in 2017 so our experience is from some years ago, but we were only required to be guarantors for her portion of the rent. This was when she and some friends took private rentals from their second year onwards.

I still remember making VERY clear in writing that our support would be for our own DD only and that we expected the other students to have their own parents etc. as their guarantors. Even though the estate agent was fairly clear on it too.

We did have to guarantor DD though or she would have had nowhere to live. It was never called on.

I told both DDs that I would only be able to guarantee their share of accommodation, so contracts which were "joint and several" would not work. DD2 has had 3 years of individual contracts in private accommodation where I have only had to guarantee her share. DD1 had 2 years and at the ripe old age of 24 is now solely responsible for her own, despite being a PhD student.

Thanks. One of the other parents is baulking as well. I don't know why these are still being used they should be banned - its not just for the rent its "all other costs incurred" so could be bills, damage, bullshit "expenses" etc. I appreciate its about the risks but this is for a 6 roomed house in London so we are not talking peanuts here. I remember it as an issue from way back when I was at Uni too back in the 80's. Its an unfair contract in my view but then you have to have the wear with all to challenge that.

@RB68 there should be a deposit for any unforeseen damages, not effectively an open check from a guarantor. I think what they're asking for is unreasonable and probably breaks some leasing codes.

Its all very well to refuse to sign, but in some university cities your child might end up with no accommodation if you take this stance

oh there is a deposit as well for sure. I am not refusing to sign but just checking out what is the norm, not many folk would happily cover potentially 6k a month

What's the evidence for that?

I used to work in HE and we were often contacted by parents who were furious about being expected to cough up as guarantors despite having signed a contract. They didn't seem to understand that they had entered into a legally binding agreement.

The university actively encouraged students to check their contracts and negotiate before signing so that they didn't end up in this kind of situation. Never heard of anyone being unable to find accommodation as a result.

Landlords get away with using this kind of contract precisely because people assume that they can't challenge them or negotiate a better deal.

Unless you are actually willing to take on legal liability for everyone's rent, don't sign to say that you will act as a guarantor for anyone but your own child.

Ime of being dcs guarantor its only been their portion I've guaranteed.

I've just pushed back on a guarantor's agreement which has me guaranteeing rent and everything else (utilities, damage, window cleaning, gardening etc.) with no limits for the entire flat for ever (Scottish open ended lease).

Let's see what they say.

Time for fair contracts for guarantors

I took out insurance against the other tenants defaulting on their rent. In the London student rental market you don't have any choice. Agents will not negotiate on contracts.

As comefromaway says, not much choice at least in London. Any hesitation and it's snapped up by someone else. DD ended up signing up for a room without seeing it, as whenever she tried to make arrangements to view it someone else had taken up the room

Didn't go well. Got an email saying that full liability for everything tenants are liable for is standard. Plus a platitude that guarantor needs to be trusting.

So its a no from me.

I’ve just signed my son’s and I’m 99% sure I’m just guaranteeing his part. He is in Portsmouth.
I am thinking I need to get some insurance in case he sets fire to the kitchen?

I am a landlord. It’s joint and several all the way. If you don’t trust your child’s flatmates, why should I.

DS took an empty room in an established flatshare so we were confident there would not be any problems. We paid DDs rent in advance, so were not required to take on responsibility for others. (Just as well as during lockdown one girl was left on her own and had a bit of a breakdown and refused to give vacant possession at the end of the tenancy.)

We must have been lucky. We didn't sign anything for DD and her BF. Perhaps because only two were sharing??

You've been lucky @KnittedCardi. My youngest is in a 2 share and still needs a guarantor but at least it is only for her share of the rent.

The one I'm complaining about has a guarantor's contract that makes me liable for absolutely everything (rent, damages, utilities) for all tenants including paying the window cleaner and submitting receipts every quarter and doing the garden.

There are third-party guarantors available if you are not able to be the guarantor yourself. There is a cost to this.

At my old uni, the uni itself will act as guarantor in exchange for an admin fee but I believe this is only if the renter has no-one else who can act in this capacity. A third party guarantor or uni might be able to put more pressure on the landlord than a parent feels able to, to provide a reasonable contract, but I don’t really know.

Mine has just finished second year.

Joint and Several.

I actually think a landlord would be foolish not to insist on it.
Students hardly know each other at the end of the first year, let alone the parents of the other students. Thinking back, had my daughter said one of her housemate's parents were refusing to sign the J&S you'd be wondering what their child was likely to do to the house, or if bills and rent wouldn't be paid. And of course, you'd be limiting choice of house massively.

Everything has gone very smoothly. No damage, no defaulting.

Unfortunately IME this is true. In university cities where accommodation is scarce landlords and agents are far less likely to negotiate.

DD's second year house didn't have a joint and several contract, and we dealt directly with the landlord. For her third year house and her house share after graduating we dealt with agents and they wouldn't budge on joint and several.

I’ve signed this for a relative in London. Very short deadline when I was in the middle of my own stuff. I didn’t know you could take insurance for this. They are all serious students, and I hope their families’ finances last the year! There was lots of info to send, including a reference for me as a guarantor FFS.

I wouldn’t sign this type of agreement without taking guarantors’ insurance to cover the potential costs. There is also normally an option to pay six months rent up front to avoid needing a guarantor if you have the cash.

There is a terrific shortage of rental property where DD is working as junior Doctor, to the extent that an estate agent won't even let young working people people view properties without a guarantor agreement signed in advance. And this is somewhere where junior Doctors earn quite a lot more than the average wage.

Landlords are more jumpy at the moment because of the upcoming change in legislation. It will soon be far harder to give notice to tenants. (It might actually make student lets easier, as it looks as if there will be an exemption, so if landlords have student tenants lined up for the following year, they will be able to get the students already in the property and on a fixed term tenancy to leave.)

I have just given notice to a group, who not only refused to consider a rent increase, despite paying some way below market rents, but are not house trained. Even the seasoned London estate agent was reduced to giggles as we went round the property. They knew we were coming but did not remove the beer cans off the floor or the duvets left by "visiting" friends off the sofa, and as for the damage. The agent suggested that if they stayed any longer I would not have much house left. One, who was not referenceable despite working for five years, had a guarantor - he had been trying to claim that he was so poor that he could not pay market rent when I knew full well that mummy is very rich indeed. If things get sticky, and they might still might as I don't think they yet understand how difficult it will be for them to find somewhere else and show no signs of really looking, I will write to the guarantor reminding her that she is joint and severally liable, and encourage her to engage and get them sorted.

With the legal changes I won't be able to do the same with their successors so am being much more cautious. Its fine. I got a full price offer at 30% over current rent within three viewings from a group with good jobs and references. In the current London market landlords can afford to be choosy.

(I should add that 98% or so of my tenants have been fine. But I would be mad not to factor in possibly risk.)

It's the norm nearly everywhere. Dh had to sign for ds1 in Nottingham.