Hi, i am trying to find out if a guarantor just needs to earn enough to make up the shortfall as tenant does not earn enough to pass referencing. The guarantor may not earn the full 3 x the yearly rent but may earn enough if his earnings can be used in combination with tenants earnings? thanks for any answers
Guarantor needs to have enough income independent of what tenant earns. They dont just top up the difference. You may well need to pursue them if tenant defaults. Tenant themselves needs to earn enough also!
Ideally they should also be home owners.
1 Like
If the tenant does not earn enough don’t rent to them. They have failed the application process.
Read the how to rent guide.
The tenant has to earn at least three times the income.
1 Like
Directly from the How To Rent guide:
‘What can you afford? Think about how
much rent you can afford to pay. 35% of your
take-home pay is the most that many people
can afford, but this depends on what your
other outgoings are (for example, whether you
have children).’
There is no hard and fast rule. Where I am, it is not unheard of for tenants to pay up to 50% of gross pay in rent. I target 35-40% of gross at most.
I don’t think you understand the purpose of a guarantor. They’re not there to top up the rent on a regular basis. They’re there to ensure rent is paid in full if the tenant unexpectedly cannot e.g. loses job and has zero savings so has to apply for benefits and the guarantor covers period before benefits kick in. In such a scenario, the applicant started out being able to afford the property but, during the tenancy, unexpected circumstances meant that they temporarily could not. That’s the ideal circumstance when a guarantor would be relied upon, and it’s usually with people who are just getting into the letting market (so have little or no track record of reliably paying rent) or find themselves in a more vulnerable position (for example, having to go back to work when they’ve just split with a partner whose income they previously relied on).
If you’re relying on a guarantor to cover expenses for a tenant who either a) chooses not to pay themselves or b) is obviously incapable of doing so (as in your case) then you have got the wrong end of the stick. You should not be renting to such applicants in the first place.
1 Like
This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.