What is a Guarantor for a tenancy?

A Guarantor is someone who agrees to cover the Tenants rent if the Tenant cannot pay for any reason. The Guarantor is also responsible for covering any damages to the property.

 

Why a guarantor?

Tenancies for each accommodation are ‘Joint and Several’ and each tenant requires a guarantor.  Each tenant has their own Guarantor, but Guarantors are Joint and Severally Liable.

 

Joint & Several?

If the Tenant is more than one person, the Tenant’s covenants are joint and several. The phrase “joint and several” means that jointly the Tenants are responsible for the payment of all rent and all liabilities falling upon the Tenants during the Tenancy or any extension of it.

 

Can I be a guarantor?

Threshold to become a guarantor are that you are either:

• A homeowner within the UK and have a current and reasonable source of income (Pension, employment self-employment)

• You reside in the UK and earning 3x the annual share of the rent of the tenant you are guaranteeing.

You should expect to be able to prove identity, home address, and proof of income. This should ideally be documentation 

 

What can I do if I don’t qualify as a guarantor or there are unusual/exceptional circumstances?

We understand that not everybody’s circumstances are straight forward and if you feel we need to take something into consideration then we encourage you to make contact so we can go through some of the details with you.

You can email us at studentaccommodationdurham@outlook.com leaving your contact details and we will get back to you.

 

What can I expect if rent isn’t paid or there is damage to the property?

We will normally contact the tenant (you are guarantor for) in the first instance to ascertain why they haven’t made their agreed rental payment outlined in the contract.

If the tenant is not contactable or cannot pay their part of the rent, we will then contact their guarantor.

If that tenant or guarantor is not contactable or they both cannot pay, then we will contact the other tenants on the tenancy agreement.

If the other tenants are not contactable or they cannot pay, then we will contact the other tenants guarantors on the tenancy agreement.

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Are there alternatives to a guarantor?

If you don’t wish to become a guarantor, you can consider an alternative:

• Seek an alternative person to act as guarantor

• Complete the full annual rental payment up front at the start of the tenancy.

• Seek a company that offers a rental guarantee/insurance (details then used for guarantor)