Worried about being a guarantor for whole house

[topcat2014]

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

Law changes from May. It has been risky for landlords to accept for a few years because of the grey area between what counts as rent and what counts as illegal deposit.

This is the answer. If the underlying tenancy is joint and several then your child is responsible for all of it so when you say you will guarantee their obligation you are guaranteeing the full amount.

I haven’t read every post but this thread is an excellent example of why you shouldn’t ask things like this on Mumsnet if you want a clear and accurate answer.

Just because someone’s child tenancy agreement was worded one way doesn’t mean everyone else’s is. I was asked to sign a joint and several guarantor agreement for one of my DCs, it was clear I could technically be liable for everything. I got around it by clearly amending the document before signing it so that it only covered my child’s rent or damage. That was in the days of paper documents. Luckily the agents didn’t care

It’s common to be asked to guarantee rent, especially for first-year students

We had this but worse - in Scotland all tenants must agree in order to end the tenancy so your guarantee is quite literally open ended. (A recent law was changing this, not sure if it has gone through, so one tenant could end a tenancy by giving three months notice to the other tenants).

Edited to add - rents are also open ended, not fixed term.

Overseas students were often forced to use private student halls because they couldn’t get guarantors.

I agree that not all contracts are worded the same; however, many do expect a joint and several guarantee, whether this is obvious on the face of it or not. So the push back is usually against posters saying "I would never sign that, don't be silly"

And I didn't have the chance to amend my bit of the contract with a pen, because I signed electronically not in person (DS1 is many hours away at uni!)

since 2021 I’ve signed for 5 different tenancies & they’ve all been via Docusign. No way to amend.

One piece of advice. Your DC should ask that flatmates share parents contract details. This is mainly for welfare reasons, ie if any of them is involved in an accident. (A friend was once contacted because a student had become severely depressed and the only way his flatmates could get hold of his parents is that one remembered that the student came from the same village as people he knew.)

However it can also be used if there are issues with rent and a need for guarantors to step in.

Guarantor contact details (or at least addresses if not phone numbers) are usually on the tenancy agreement & guarantors should be sent a copy.

Me too, my DD on second student shared house and I’ve always just guaranteed hers and her first house had 8 in it.
would not in a million years guarantee for the whole house.

Not true. There can be a lead tenant but it is perfectly possible and indeed usual for each sharer to have their own guarantor regardless.

Norm.

When I signed for DD a couple of years ago, it was on paper, and I crossed out everything that did not specify DD only, and wrote her name on it.

There are 2 separate contracts.

1 the guarantor's-
you get 2 types. Joint and several and individual. First one all guarantors can be chased if one tenant defaults. Second one, guarantor agrees to meet their own child's commitment . Many, many contracts are for the second because on paper it looks like you agree to cover your own child only... but then comes...

2 the tenancy agreement. Usually (not always, but usually, often depends if run as a student house or HMO) joint and several. So each tenant agrees that they will cover the whole rent should any tenant default. This then becomes part of your own child's commitment mentioned in the guarantor's contract.

I’m a guarantor.

The guarantor agreement I signed stated a specific sum that was the max I would be responsible for, which was the 12 months rent.

I also emailed the agents and asked for confirmation that I would not be pursued for the rent of others if their guarantor defaulted, and they confirmed in writing this was the case.

Are people suggesting that despite this, I could still be liable for more than a full year’s rent for 1 person? Thanks.

It’s impossible to say for sure without seeing both documents but it sounds like your agreement does have the specific wording which limits your liability.

most do not have that wording.

@WombatChocolate would suggest you read the student's tenancy agreement alongside your guarantor's one.

Yours does sound like you'd only be responsible for your child. But the devil is in the detail.

Are the tenants jointly responsible for the full rent (do they have to find a replacement for a tenant who drops out etc). It is a lot easier for a landlord with a joint and several contract to pursue those who are still there, day to day, living in their property rather than a faceless parent. Hate the weasely way these contracts are intertwined.

If it a joint and several tenancy agreement then you are liable for everyone's rent.

If one person defaults, then a responsible landlord should go after their guarantor. But as it is a joint and several contract they are within their rights to pursue the other tenants for the money instead.

I know people this has happened to.

The insurance helps to arbitrate (which you can potentially do yourself). It would only pay out to cover the rent demand in very limited circumstances - from memory, they have to judge you having a greater than 50% chance of winning a court case, then they represent you in the case and cover the costs if they lose. So it's just like a no-win-no-fee contract but they cover the costs if you lose.

It's the norm sadly. We tried to argue this each time but none of the landlords/letting agents would budge.

this = in theory each student asks a parent but in reality the contracts often say joint and several so in theory we are guaranteeing the whole flat (but every parent is jointly). There is a charity that can do the guarantee if that helps but sorry I can't remember their name.