Hi, I’ve rented rooms over the years and a guarantor is NOT worth the hassle. HMOs are causing a lot of inequality across the country despite them supposedly being setup to help the supply problems. It’s been all over the news and research has been conducted by big charities and organizations on the consequences of HMOs both to the local area and the communities and the people inside them. Landlords don’t have to invest half as much into tenant relationships in HMOs as they do exclusive access properties because they deal with them on a room-to-room/household basis instead of one household where they are compelled to take issues seriously. You often get lots of problems as a result and minimal resolutions to those problems as they can be pawned off. You may just be asked to leave if you don’t like it and some landlords will just attempt to coerce you to leave if you start complaining. It happens all the time in HMOs. Gives tenants a more difficult place to defend from. What do you pay for then? A box room in a house you don’t have control over.
On that basis, why play into that power imbalance by giving over valuable information like a guarantor when that can go to a tenancy where you are treated much more fairly?
I often stick to providing basic information for HMOs and give them a wide berth if landlords become too demanding/entitled over what I need to do to move in. I’ve lived in many, including “high standard” HMOs and they’ve all pretty much been problematic and limited scope in addressing issues due to the nature of the situation. I am prepared to provide more for exclusive tenancies (flats, houses etc) and answer more questions because I know when I get the keys and my side is answered for, I have grounds to assume a greater degree of authority over my home. That’s not the case in HMOs and so why deprecate yourself for such inferior accommodation? You’ll likely regret it a few months down the line when you deal with a crazy house mate or the landlord turns out to be incompetent in the face of problems in the house. Your guarantor doesn’t mean anything then.
On a scale between homeless and a good housing situation, HMOs rank above lodging, probably a 2 on a scale of 10 - at the bottom. You should NEVER give over any financial information except from the bank details they receive when you make a rent payment into their bank to a live-in landlord. They are strangers giving you a room with limited rights. Likewise and with HMOs only being one level above being a lodger (you get more rights but not a lot more than that) you give slightly more information but know the limits based on what you are getting. Obviously at the top you have buying a home where it’s necessary and likely worthwhile to give everything you can if in X amount of years the house is yours for the rest of your life and you have a valuable asset gaining value. A guarantor at this stage is the least expected security. I would give a lot more in this scenario because it’s a lifetime investment (potentially).
I would say don’t get desperate. When they start expecting you to provide information like you are putting a deposit down for a house, take a step back and assess things. 99% of the time it’s NOT worth it and the landlord is simply pushing their luck attempting to exploit the current housing situation and desperation to get people who are willing to sacrifice integrity to find somewhere to live. Provide bank statements, ID for right to live in the country and answer questions where appropriate but enhanced disclosure is not necessary. Don’t buckle under the pressure to put yourself out on the line for budget accommodation.
Credit checks, criminal background checks, loop jumping etc - for a mansion in the Cotswolds, maybe! For a tired Georgian inner city townhouse the landlord has run into the ground churning out rooms for city workers with a high turnover? Perspective check needed. I’m paying (probably) the mortgage and I’m already getting less than I deserve.
Remember you are doing all this to live in a house full of strangers who have their own interests in mind while the landlord has theirs. Make sure YOU are getting something out of the exchange. Give as little as possible. You are not missing out. HMOs are sadly plentiful. They are not a rare thing. Some are better than others but all are HMOs and that’s where the limit is. It’s a predatory market being capitalised on at a time of vulnerability for lots of people. Boundaries are necessary.
Bank statements, work references maybe, ID (show this in person if you can so you don’t have copies of it potentially floating around on the internet or get special software to watermark the hell out of any copy you send so if it gets into the wrong hands its worthless). Character references not always necessary but for a good HMO (hard to know it is until you’ve moved in) maybe. Guarantor definitely not. If I’m renting the whole place then maybe.