Guarantors - TenantVERIFY

Taking Guarantors

Taking a Guarantor:

Where at prospective tenant achieves a credit score in our Caution (BLUE) range, you may want to consider other options, depending upon the recommendations we make in the report:

Reject the tenant outright on the ground that he or she does not meet the financial criteria for your tenancy.
Take all or a considerable proportion of the rent in advance, for example with a 6 months AST you take the full six-months rent in advance.
As option two is unlikely to be viable for tenants in this position, a good alternative often is to take a guarantor.

It is also common to ask for guarantors where the tenant is a young person or a student. Parents will usually oblige here.

Guarantors should normally be home owners (not absolutely essential but we always recommend this) and of sufficient financial means or earning capacity to comfortably pay the rent should your tenant default.

A guarantor is usually someone close to the tenant (a relative, though friends and employers can sometimes oblige) who would provide contractual assurance that rent and any damage will be paid for before or at the end of the tenancy in the event of default.

Guarantors MUST have seen and approved the tenancy agreement they are guaranteeing prior to the tenant signing it, and they must also sign a Deed of Guarantee (Guarantor Agreement). This deed should be witnessed.

Some tenancy agreements come with a guarantor agreement included, but otherwise you will need to obtain a separate guarantor agrement.

Landlords should also bear in mind that any variation in the agreement, including the fixed-term coming to an end and tenancy renewal, if done without the guarantor's consent, will discharge the guarantor's liability.

The guarantor may need to sign a new guarantor agreement on tenancy renewal if you want their obligations to continue.

You need to carry out credit checks, referencing and identity checks for a guarantor just as you would with a tenant.

Guarantors are outside the scope of the Deposit Protection Scheme.

Guarantor Application Form