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Higher education

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

Original poster

Worried about being a guarantor for whole house

96 replies

topcat2014 · 03/12/2025 13:40

Dd in first year and looking at houses with friends for year 2.

I only wish to guarantee her rent (and even that feels cheeky to me).

Is that the norm?

Panicking in case I get put on the spot and have to do things online in a hurry so they don't lose the house etc

OP posts:
Llamallamafruitpyjama · 03/12/2025 13:42

We all had our parents guarantee us. I would never garantee someone else’s teen/very young adult based on the spending habits of some of the people I lived with in second year. No way in hell.

Overthebow · 03/12/2025 13:48

I wouldn’t be guarantor for the whole house, that could put you in a really bad position if someone doesn’t pay.

Sittingonthefence83 · 03/12/2025 13:51

It’s the norm that each student gets their own parent to be a guarantor for their part of the rent.

Motnight · 03/12/2025 13:51

Overthebow · 03/12/2025 13:48

I wouldn’t be guarantor for the whole house, that could put you in a really bad position if someone doesn’t pay.

This!

thecatneuterer · 03/12/2025 13:52

If it's a shared house then contracts are joint and several. It's not possible to be a guarantor for just one of the sharers.

thecatneuterer · 03/12/2025 13:55

Sittingonthefence83 · 03/12/2025 13:51

It’s the norm that each student gets their own parent to be a guarantor for their part of the rent.

How? When contracts are always joint and several? I suppose if there are lots of guarantors and one tenant defaults the landlord could be asked to pursue the guarantor related to that tenant. But they wouldn't have to. They could go after the easiest/one with most assets. And if that guarantor proved difficult they could just move on to another one.

AudiobookListener · 03/12/2025 13:56

I would just tell her you can't be a guarantor for a joint and several contract for a whole house and she will need to look at the contract as well as the house when house-hunting.

Original poster
topcat2014 · 03/12/2025 14:02

@AudiobookListenerthanks! At least one of her friends comes from difficult circumstances and could get into problems..

OP posts:
Original poster
topcat2014 · 03/12/2025 14:02

Can you get insurance against this risk?

OP posts:
JudgeBreads · 03/12/2025 14:11

I’ve done this 4 times, you’re only responsible for your own child. You will be emailed a copy of the agreement which you will sign electronically, it’s then passed to the next person and the agreement is only valid when all parties have signed.

BellissimoGecko · 03/12/2025 14:13

I don’t think you get an option. We had to sign a very similar contract.

blackberryhill · 03/12/2025 14:17

You're right to be nervous, I would be very reluctant to act for a guarantor for parties other than my child. In principle you could have a guarantee which states that you are only liable for a percentage of the rent equal to what your child's stake would be, but (1) hard to persuade the landlord to accept this when they would prefer you on the hook for everything and (2) would be difficult to limit it to only your child's share of the debt if the lease is joint and several so you could still end up covering someone else's debt, albeit your exposure would be limited.

Comefromaway · 03/12/2025 14:33

You need to read both the guarantor agreement and the rental agreement very carefully.
Even if the guarantor agreement says that you are only guaranteeing your child's share of the rent the actual rental agreement may be joint and several which means that they are liable for the whole rent if any other tenant defaults. The wording has to be very specific for you not to be liable.

There is an implied right of redress which means that you can sue the defaulting tenant through the small claims court but it would be best to avoid that.

I did take out insurance for my daughter's houseshare via a company called Only My Share. I didn't have to claim but I did have to contact them when we thought a tenant was going to default and they were helpful.

Original poster
topcat2014 · 03/12/2025 14:34

@Comefromawaythanks I will look at that

OP posts:
Comefromaway · 03/12/2025 14:35

JudgeBreads · 03/12/2025 14:11

I’ve done this 4 times, you’re only responsible for your own child. You will be emailed a copy of the agreement which you will sign electronically, it’s then passed to the next person and the agreement is only valid when all parties have signed.

That is very often not the case in house-shares. It requires very specific wording and joint and several contracts are much more common.

surreygirly · 03/12/2025 14:36

No No No NO NO NO

FenceBooksCycle · 03/12/2025 14:39

thecatneuterer · 03/12/2025 13:52

If it's a shared house then contracts are joint and several. It's not possible to be a guarantor for just one of the sharers.

This. It's not possible to be only responsible for your child's commitments because your child is signing a contract that takes equal responsibility for the whole rent (so if one person leaves or doesn't pay, the others are still liable for the full rent)

It's usually possible to escape being a guarantor if you can pay the entire year's rent in full in advance.

When a tenancy goes wrong, the estate agents will pick the easiest target from among the guarantors to sue. Really try to avoid it if you possibly can.

SheilaFentiman · 03/12/2025 14:39

AudiobookListener · 03/12/2025 13:56

I would just tell her you can't be a guarantor for a joint and several contract for a whole house and she will need to look at the contract as well as the house when house-hunting.

The trouble is, in many student areas, most landlords want a joint and several guarantee and will select groups prepared to give it, if there are an abundance of renters!

MagpiePi · 03/12/2025 14:41

I guaranteed both of my children when they were at uni and I am sure it was for them alone and not joint and several, otherwise I wouldn't have signed. They will probably be renting a student specific house rather than one that is on the open market so the terms could be different.

Motherhubbardscupboard · 03/12/2025 14:41

It's very hard to avoid, and varies between university towns (and agencies) we have found. In one case, I spoke to the agents who assured me that they could not recall ever chasing a parent who was not the parent of the defaulting tenant, but that it was possible under the contract. We had no choice but to go ahead because there was no other option. In other DC's town, we were definitely limited to only guaranteeing our DC's share and the amounts were specified.

Comefromaway · 03/12/2025 14:45

My son's ex girlfriend has issues in her last year's house share when one housemate didn't pass the year. This year they all decided to go into a private student halls flat and each of them have their own individual tenancy agreement, not a joint one.

thecatneuterer · 03/12/2025 14:48

FenceBooksCycle · 03/12/2025 14:39

This. It's not possible to be only responsible for your child's commitments because your child is signing a contract that takes equal responsibility for the whole rent (so if one person leaves or doesn't pay, the others are still liable for the full rent)

It's usually possible to escape being a guarantor if you can pay the entire year's rent in full in advance.

When a tenancy goes wrong, the estate agents will pick the easiest target from among the guarantors to sue. Really try to avoid it if you possibly can.

Edited
Show quote history

The new rental laws prohibit landlords from taking more than one month in advance. This is causing particular problems for student landlords as rent used to be taken at the beginning of the term. Now that isn't possible it's likely that some tenants will have run out of money by the time they have to pay subsequent months.

ChubbyPuffling · 03/12/2025 14:49

You usually have no choice. If your child wants to share a house, wants to be with friends, a houseshare often goes - look at house, do we like it, say yes, arrange guarantors, sign contract, pay deposit. This all happens VERY quickly.

If you hold it up, where is your child going to live next year? Because the house will go to the next viewing if it is a good one, or worse, "friends" will find another to take their place.

I have had 2 going through it - 4 years for one, 5 for the other, and only one had a year where we were not "contractually obligated" to pay up in case of default of any tenant. That was in a refurbed, vacant HMO that they filled.

The students all have their own informal agreements - You pay your rent. If you want to leave, you find someone to take on your room. That happened twice.
We never had to pay anyone else's rent.

Friendlyfart · 03/12/2025 14:56

It’s the norm and it’s always ‘joint and several’ - seen two DC through uni and never had an issue.

Sidebend · 03/12/2025 18:37

As others have said, no choice in a competitive rental market. You just have to cross your fingers. I think you can buy insurance but it's not cheap.