Basically as described.
The estate agent has relayed that due to my partner’s employment circumstances they would like to proceed with 6 months upfront for a 6 months tenancy.
We partly expected this so it’s not too much of a problem.
The problem is the landlord still wants a guarantor, but for what? If the rent is payed in full upfront, there is no potential debt that the guarantor would need to cover?
Anyone have any ideas or ever had experience with this.
Cheers
It is for two things:
If you cause damage the guarantor would have to pay
If/when you stay on and the tenancy becomes periodic then s/he wants to make sure they someone pays it
6 months is only the fixed term. The tenancy can run-on month to month. It can also take many months to evict a tenant, so advance rent is not really a solution on its own.
That’s totally unfair, I don’t understand why you should need a guarantor.
Because the person does not make enough money to reliably pay rent and living expenses. Therefore, a guarantor enables you to have a roof over your head.
We’ve not been asked to pay a security deposit, which we would be happy to do upon request.
And surely a tenancy over the agreed 6 months would be at our discretion, so why the need for their details?
Also I’m fully aware of the purpose of a guarantor, but the rent’s going to be payed off in full, so there will be 0 debt that would be owed to the landlord and therefore no need to guarantee a third party pays anything.
Don’t think you understand the point.
If you damage the property for say £5000 and don’t have a job or enough disposable income then how is the landlord going to get his money back? Through the guarantor.
If you stay past your six month tenancy and stop paying rent and don’t have a job or enough disposable income then how is the landlord going to get his money back? Through the guarantor!
It is a safety net for the landlord if you owe him money and can’t pay. If you can pay and truly do there’s no harm in having a guarantor.
I understand the point, if the landlord belived that we may incur damages to the degree of £5000 they shouldn’t rent to us as that’s an extreme amount of damage.
It’s at our discretion of we choose to continue the tenancy past 6 months so then it would make sense to get a guarantor in place of we/it choose to stay on.
I have no issue with having a guarantor, in fact we have one, my issues is I would want to know what the guarantor would be liable for exactly, and same for the guarantor and rightly so. Just seems a little off base considering the circumstances.
We’re already diminishing a vast amount of agency as tenants by agreeing to pay upfront, as there’s no longer an incentive to fix any unforseen problems as they already have all the money in their pocket, I just see it as potentially unnecessary level of security.
then be prepared to be rejected if you carry on objecting to a guarrantor. The landlord is protecting his back, he likely does not know you, it is hie property ,he can ask what he wants. If you do not like it ,go elsewhere
That’s obviously what you think as a tenant. As a landlord we have no real idea whether you’re a good tenant or not, i.e. if there’s damage.
And yes, it’s at your discretion if you want to stay after the six months. That’s the problem. The landlord has no other option than letting you stay after the six months if you choose to. That is why we want guarantors - to make sure you pay if you stay beyond the six months.
As Colin said, be prepared to be rejected if you have a low income or poor credit or no steady employment or a bad reference.
Never objected to a guarantor, don’t post unuseful responses without reading the content of the thread please, I’m looking 1. Someone who’s maybe experienced this, 2. A land lord that could potentially shed some light on why this maybe required.
I think 2 has been answered. You may have signed a 6 month contract, but your tenancy does not automatically end then if you stay. If you choose to stay beyond that and can’t afford the rent, the landlord needs some assurance that they will be able to recover the rent.
landlords have shed light on this and fully answered you
During the pandemic I had a lot of enquiries. People offered six months rent as an alternative to a guarantor. I asked one what happens in month seven?
Reply " We’ll decide then"!
I rejected all applicants that offered rent as a substitute for a guarantor and or reference or right to rent checks.
You can’t sign a guarantor at month seven . What happens if your relationship breaks down with your landlord? Are you going to be forthcoming with your guarantor? It’s not a pragmatic solution.
Tenancies are unpredictable. Six months can be an eternity in a poor relationship with one’s tenant. Everything is done before the tenancy starts on the basis of better safe than sorry.
In my opinion it is suspicious and sounds like a scam. The only people that don’t have UK based guarantors, paying rent up front, are internationals and they are going home at the end of their course or job contract.
I have just had students whose guarantor would not provide evidence of home ownership but provided all other paper work. I became suspicious. They offered twelve months rent upfront as a solution. I looked up the owner on the land registry and confirmed ownership and took the termly rent and a guarantor.
That I think was a personal fear from someone who is not familiar with the system in this country and I was happy to find a solution for evidence of equity.
I have taken tenants without guarantors but that is a gut feeling and people who have paid their rent and prioritise rent payment ( supported with bank statements and a landlord reference that was honest, warts and all). When I am given a full picture I make the decision if I want that tenant or not.
If you are this argumentative about it I would not accept you as a potential tenant. If having a guarantor is such a sticking point why don’t you look elsewhere?
Thankyou for such a comprehensive response.
As I’ve mentioned I don’t have an issue with having a guarantor, in fact I have a UK based guarantor in place but they are equally confused in regards to the situation.
I think this forum has highlighted a serious issue and that is the lack of trust between potential tenants and landlords. I can understand experiences leaving a bad taste in the mouth of landlords but being called a potential scammer and argumentative when In reality I’m a new renter and genuinely looking for informed response regarding my situation shows there’s obvious animosity.
Rather than having an us against them mentality it would be beneficial to try and work together, though there probably are people trying to take advantage there are equal number of people looking for an opportunity that are trustworthy and genuine.
I do really appreciate that you took the time to respond, same with everyone that’s answered the questions, but maybe a bit of food for thought.
So I think it’s very important renters understand a few points.
As a landlord, I have great difficulties and extreme costs to evict a tenant. The costs for one easy/simple eviction would wipe out around 2 years’ worth of income/profit on a property but I would still be liable for all the costs. Damages to the property could wipe out a further couple of years or more.
On the other side, the government has rigged the whole system against landlords to make it difficult to evict - tenants have no real obligations but landlords have many. A small, genuine mistake on a piece of paper, for instance, and a judge would kick us out. Judges always side with tenants if they can. Look at the covid ban on evictions. What happened - many unscrupulous tenants stopped paying and pocketed the money leaving landlords unable to evict, couldn’t afford mortgages and the tenant moves on to another rental property with thousands of pounds in their pocket.
We’re not in it together. You take no risks whatsoever. You can move out after 4 months if you don’t like the landlord. We’re stuck with you potentially forever.
Though there are parts of that I agree with its easy to relate to the side of the fence you stand on, I can empathize with your points 100% but I as a new renter also have worries/concerns.
I do believe that tenants and landlords are in it together as it’s a symbiotic relationship we as renters need landlords and landlords as rentees’ require renters, as usual the issues are with the system not necessarily with the resounding majority of individuals looking for a harmonious relationship.
I was just making a point, I’ve come on to this forum looking for insight from objective landlords really and received a lot of animosity from people that aren’t even related to my personal circumstances, it’s made me realise that having a guarantor even if for the sake of piece of mind for my landlord is worth the trouble. But it’s also made me notice there is generally an underlying animosity between landlords and renters, at least on this forum.
The general population are honest and trustworthy people and a few bad experience can warp that view pretty drastically, I’m saying it’s worth realising that bias.
The incidence of rental fraud has increased in the last 12 months to 1 in 50 in the U.K. and 1in 20 in London.
If you are new, as Per has documented, you have no ideas of our woes.
An inexperienced landlord will take you, I have too many grey hairs and would not take anything that was suspicious.
For instance I have just rented a house to two people who are dreadful on paper, no guarantor , gamble and live hand to mouth .
They were not given furlough by their company during lockdown and borrowed money to pay rent . In eight years they had missed one weeks rent because the landlord gave them that concession during lockdown.They did not ask for it. They are moving because she is selling up.
They both had to find new jobs and did so in this economic climate to pay rent as furlough was not paid to them. They provided proof to their previous landlady of lack of furlough payment.
I had two other groups who I accepted , great on paper, took a deposit and then rejected and returned the deposit .
The first, the tenant I did not meet wrote a very dubiously litigious email. I did not sleep all night thinking about the nightmares I have endured with these type of tenants. The following morning I sent the email to my solicitor who was on annual leave. He still replied and told me these are non negotiable issues, walk away.
I gave them their deposit back and asked them to find alternative accommodation. He did ask to discuss the situation and alleged his mother, a landlady, wrote the email. I told him that was more cause for concern. Reading the email I thought he was an ambulance chaser type and so told him so.
The second group secured it but the tenant I had not met originally told me I had said something I hadn’t. If you are duplicitous and we haven’t signed anything it does not bode well for the future. I also told them to find alternative accommodation. My reason, lack of transparency on their part.
I hope my choice works out. As far as I am aware , they haven’t lied and they were not rude to me. They did not have a pity party and found a new job as a solution to their problem .
That is a testament to their character. Let’s see….
You are judging a situation with no experience of what has happened over the last eighteen months and as a new prospective tenant you cannot even begin to understand the PTSD that comes when your see bad repetitive tenant behaviour as a landlord. A tenant only has to say something and as a landlord you have a sinking in the pit of your stomach ( oh you are one of them) or it triggers anxiety…
Per and A-A Well said but sadly our opinion will not make much difference to some renters views .
A lot of people do not have access to guarantors. To be honest I’d never ask anyone to take on that responsibility even if I did. However, I am starting to see things from both sides. I don’t know want to say beyond that, I’m feeling somewhat deflated by it all to be honest. Think I’m going to stop reading on here for a while and just keep moving forward the best I can.
Although I have been thinking that perhaps a tenant and landlord cooperative might be an idea. Just thinking out loud for now…
Sometimes it’s true what they say “ignorance is bliss”.