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Guarantor agreements - help

Landlord Discussion Legal
#1

Morning all

I have let a flat successfully for the last 4 years always via word of mouth. I have had it listed on OR now for quite a while and had quite a lot of interest but the whole process falls apart when I issue the guarantor documents - usually to a pair of students who have separate guarantors. The hurdle is neither guarantor wants to be exposed to the risk generated by the other tenant.

I know I can ask for rent upfront but then surely that only moves the potential issue further down the line …
The guarantor document I have been using is issued by NLRA and have tried using both their Limited and Unlimited guarantees.

Any advice appreciated
Thx

#2

Surely the point of the limited guarantee is that guarantors are not exposed to the debt of the other students?

#3

it only limits the exposure to unpaid rent not damage to the property… ie they would still be on the hook if the other party trashes a wall etc

#4

Just sounds like a nightmare if you ever had to claim against the guarantors. I’d propose that both guarantors take on the responsibility equally as in joint and several liability.

1 Like
#5

Hi Vicki,

It’s my understanding that in a joint and severally liable tenancy, there is no way to make one guarantor only liable for one tenant’s portion of the rent.

I’m not sure there would be any way to get around this while also having a tenancy agreement which names all signatories as joint and severally liable. One option could be to let the individual rooms in the property, with shared facilities, so you have a separate agreement with each tenant, and therefore the guarantors are liable only for the rent for that room.

Sam

#6

I just had a look at the notes for their limited guarantor agreement and they suggest that it does cover both - " If the Tenant breaks any of the terms of the tenancy and the Landlord suffers loss then the Guarantor must pay the Landlord the amount of that loss".

The problem, of course, is proving who caused the damage, but this is not a problem of guarantees, its a wider issue.

1 Like
#7

Sam, the NRLA seem to disagree with you as they have a limited guarantor agreement for just that purpose. I have never used it, but assume they have confidence in it.

#8

I would ask to see the judges’ rulings in cases involving that before having confidence in it. A lot of contracts aren’t worth the paper they’re written on.

The main question is how do the courts determine who is liable for which expenses if the tenants disagree on who is at fault and there’s no evidence beyond “he said she said”.