Rental Property Advice - Guarantor??

[Eyeofthelamp]

Can anyone offer any advice on this situation please? Not sure if this is the right page or not.

My adult son and his partner have been privately renting a flat for over a year. They have a rolling 1m tenancy agreement (which I personally don’t like). Both work full time and they always pay their rent on time.

Today they have had an email from the letting agency asking them to provide a guarantor for the rent from their next tenancy renewal ‘due to new laws’. I think this is very odd. I’m not a really inclined to offer myself up as a guarantor at this stage for working two adults.

Could anyone shed any light on this or offer any advice please? Thanks in advance.

Bit odd. Usually it's for students or someone who isn't earning enough or if a landlord takes on someone on housing benefit.
Are they earning enough for the affordability calculations to work?

DS’s partner is a nurse and DS is a manager. Both well above minimum wage. Rent is £1000

It will be because of the increased risks that landlords are being exposed to, eg no Section 21.
It's becoming harder to be a landlord and thus it will become more difficult to be a tenant.

I'm afraid this is not unusual and will become very prevalent come May next year. Since Covid, the hoops you have to jump through to secure a tenancy have become increasingly eye popping. I've had agents ask if we can pay six months rent in advance AND provide a guarantor, for a £1400 a month house, when we've got a 100k income, and credit ratings over 800/1000.

Good agencies who know what a shit storm is coming will be advising LLs to get guarantors as a matter of course from now on.

1. Mortgage lenders will begin to stipulate it as a condition in tenancies to manage their risk
2. As will home insurers - LL insurance already has many, many conditions

I'm sorry to say it won't matter diddly squat how respectable and reliable you think your family are. If you don't give the agent/LL what they want, they'll evict them, just so they can find someone who can provide a guarantor to meet their lender/insurer's terms.

In case you're thinking 'oh, they can just find somewhere else' - the longest it's taken us to find, sign and move before now is six weeks (five years, five moves - don't ask) - this time, we've been looking for a week short of three months and I've only viewed one property and it was in a horrific condition. I've got alerts set up for a dozen areas across around four counties.

It's like the bloody sahara out there for good rentals right now.

I would strongly advise you to tuck your pride in your back pocket, just be the guarantor, and sleep soundly knowing your family are now at absolutely minimal risk of eviction.

If you are a guarantor you might end up on the hook for an unlimited amount for an unlimited period. Take care.

But looking on the bright side, when a person stops being a landlord, the home does not cease to exist.

Some people talk as if a thousand landlords exiting the business means a thousand fewer homes in the country.

Apologies. I forgot this is MN and landlord bashing is obligatory.

On the basis of what happened when the original 1968 Rent Act came in, that's exactly what it will mean.

Properties left vacant rather than sold or rented out.

You're probably best just to agree to be their guarantor @Eyeofthelamp

We had to do that when our kids were renting at uni and at least in your case you know it's very low risk. Being a guarantor for students is riskier!

It potentially does mean that for people who can't afford to buy their own home.