A guarantor is somebody, usually a parent or guardian, who agrees to cover the rent if the student cannot pay it. Most student landlords in the UK ask for a UK-based guarantor before a tenancy starts. It is a normal part of student renting and it is rarely called upon, but it is a real legal commitment and it is worth understanding properly before you sign.
This guide is written for the person being asked to sign, not for the student. It covers what you are agreeing to, the one clause that matters more than any other, who can act as guarantor, what to do if you cannot be one, and how the two different deposits are protected.
What you are actually agreeing to
As a guarantor you sign a legally binding agreement to pay the rent, and often to cover damage beyond the deposit, if the tenant does not. It is a contract between you and the landlord. It typically runs for the whole fixed term of the tenancy, and in many agreements it continues into any periodic tenancy that follows.
Two practical points people miss. First, the landlord does not have to chase the student to exhaustion before coming to you; most guarantor agreements let them come to you directly once rent is unpaid. Second, the agreement usually survives your child leaving the property. If they move out in February and the tenancy runs to June, your obligation runs to June too.
The clause that matters most: joint and several liability
This is the single thing to check, and it is the one most often glossed over.
In a joint tenancy, all the students sign one agreement for the whole house, and each of them is liable for all of the rent, not just their share. If a guarantor agreement is written against that joint tenancy, you are guaranteeing the whole house. Five students, one drops out and stops paying, and you can be pursued for their share as well as your own child's.
In an individual tenancy each student has their own agreement for their own room, and your guarantee is limited to that room.
If you are offered a whole-house guarantee and you are not comfortable with it, you can ask for it to be capped at your child's share. Landlords say no sometimes, but they are asked often enough that it is not an unusual request.
Who can be a guarantor
Requirements vary between landlords, but the usual expectations are:
- A UK resident aged 18 or over, most often a homeowner or somebody in steady employment.
- Able to show proof of identity, and often proof of income or a credit check.
- Not already guaranteeing so many tenancies that another one is implausible.
Some landlords ask for a guarantor's income to be a multiple of the annual rent. It is worth asking what the threshold is before you go through a credit check, rather than after.
Before you sign: five things to check
- The scope. Your child's share, or the whole house? Get it in writing.
- The term. Does the guarantee end when the fixed term ends, or does it roll on into a periodic tenancy indefinitely?
- What it covers. Rent only, or rent plus damage, cleaning and legal costs? All are common; you should know which.
- What happens if the tenancy is renewed. Some agreements automatically extend to a second year. You may be happy with that, but you should be choosing it.
- Who to contact. If the student stops paying, you want to hear about it in month one, not in month six with six months of arrears attached. Ask how and when you would be told.
Take a copy of the signed agreement and keep it. You would be surprised how often nobody can find it a year later.
If you cannot provide a UK guarantor
Plenty of families cannot, and it should not shut a student out of a decent house. International students in particular often have nobody in the UK to ask. The usual alternatives are:
- Paying rent in advance, often a term or the full year up front, in place of a guarantee.
- A paid guarantor service, a company that acts as guarantor for a fee, typically a percentage of the annual rent. Check what the fee actually is and what happens if the student falls behind.
- A guarantor who is not a parent, such as another relative in the UK who meets the criteria.
The important thing is to raise it early and honestly rather than at the point of signing. Because we let our own houses directly, we can talk it through and find something that works instead of applying a fixed policy from head office. Our guide for international students covers this in more detail from that angle.
The two deposits, and how each is protected
There are two different payments and they work differently. Confusing them is common.
A holding deposit reserves the room while paperwork is completed. Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019 it is capped at one week's rent, and it must be refunded or put towards the rent within fifteen days unless the tenant withdraws or provides false information. We do not take one at all, but you will meet them elsewhere in the market.
A tenancy deposit is taken when the tenancy is signed, against damage and unpaid rent. It is capped at five weeks' rent where the annual rent is under 50,000 pounds. By law it must be protected in one of three government-backed schemes within 30 days of receipt, and the tenant must be given the prescribed information about where it is. The government's deposit protection page sets out the schemes and what protection means in practice.
Ask which scheme is being used and get it confirmed in writing. If a deposit is not protected, the tenant can claim compensation of between one and three times the deposit, and the landlord's ability to serve certain notices is affected. It is one of the clearest signals of whether a landlord runs their properties properly.
What else to ask about the house itself
Since you are being asked to stand behind the tenancy, it is reasonable to ask about the property:
- Is it a licensed HMO, and can we see the licence? For a house of five or more sharers this is a legal requirement, not a nicety.
- Is there a current gas safety record and an electrical installation condition report?
- Which bills are included, and is there a usage cap? Our bills guide explains what to expect.
- Who does the student call when something breaks, and how fast do they come?
How we work
We are a direct-to-landlord, family-run business with eighteen years letting to students in Stoke-on-Trent. We take no admin fees and no advance deposit, every house is a licensed HMO, and we are happy to answer a parent's questions on the phone or in person rather than by form.
There is more on how the whole process works from a parent's side on our page for parents and guarantors.