h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

SO my step daughter is looking to move out and get her own place (Yaya! ) but due to her age, and only having a minimum wage job the agency require a guarantor.

My partner is out of work and also has some adverse credit history, step daughter has no working grandparents or anything so the only person she knows who could possibly be the guarantor is me.

Gone through the process and been sent the literature from the agency and Ay Karumba the terms are unbelievably one sided.

They expect me to have a non negotiable open ended commitment to underwriting the rent for as long as Sam is in the property. I have no rights, at any time to cancel being a guarantor. Sam has the right to sign a new fixed term contract at any point, including one for which the rent is increased or the terms of the tenancy agreement (and associated liabilities) is changed and I can have no veto of this or ability to extricate myself form it.

It seems unbelievably unreasonable, one sided and restrictive.

I just don't see how I could possibly agree to this. Long time since I last posted here but often got good advice from hootooers in the past. Anyone have any experience of this?

FB

It is probably worth your while consulting a solicitor before signing such an agreement.

I've had to sign up to a similar agreement to secure North junior's university accommodation. It's supply and demand. If there were enough flats to go around, then they'd be a little less demanding.

It really is a conundrum.... Honestly torn.

FB

I noticed happy smiling faces when guarantors were mentioned on an advert for of these payday loan companies - I wouldn't be smiling if someone asked me to be guarantor on one of those.

It all boils down to how well do you know the person you'r guarantoring for? In the end it's really them who has to pay the rent. If you think they might shaft you or are too irresponsible don't do it. If they're not like that then it's likely to be fairly low risk.


Incidentally you might think you're in danger but my wife was guarantor to her daughters credit card when she was a 17 years old (the daughter that is). Unsurprisingly, the daughter, not even being employed at the time went straight up to the £1000 limit and never payed it back until she got into big trouble with recovery companies following her around.
Not at any point did anyone approach my wife for the money.

Perhaps because it was done so illegally that they knew that would never work - who knows. I am continually pressing the daughter - a now much grown up 28 year old - to sue them back for the in excess of £3000 she eventually payed back. My wife was used as guarantor without her knowledge until the shit hit the fan. Money lent in an illegal way should never have been owed. If her daughter could be persuaded to make a proper complaint then much compensation would come her way methinks.

But like I said, despite being a guarantor on a debt sold to bailiff companies she was *never* approached to pay it back - they went after her daughter.

The apartment is probably going to stay where it is. No one is going to show up at your door demanding to know where you've put it.

What if you rent it she pays you and you pay the agency. If is she dose not pay the rent you post notice to quit 1 month, and make it plain you will not prevent her eviction.

Worst case you are down 2 mts rent.

I think the things that worries me is the open ended nature. If it was just for the term of the assured tenancy (6 months) I'd probably just suck it up..

But the fact that they are asserting that it lasts until she leaves, whatever happens to her tenancy or rent and there are no circumstances where I am able to withdraw form being the guarantor makes me really nervous.

Me and the step daughter don't really get on well, funnily enough because once she was over 18 and working I insisted that she needed to pay rent, and I don't think she'd be particularly worried about malfeaseance on her part ending up having to be picked up by me....

Tis a head scratcher.

FB

>But the fact that they are asserting that it lasts until she leaves, whatever happens to her tenancy or rent and there are no circumstances where I am able to withdraw form being the guarantor makes me really nervous.<

Ah, I think that's not legally enforceable (though I am not a lawyer).

Unless the law has changed from when I was letting, the only thing you genuinely could enforce in the courts on a tenant was a short-hold assured tenancy. I.e. 6 months notice required initially then rolling 1 month notice either way after that (might be two months these days from landlord). With a minimum term of 1 year

That doesn't sound right now I look at it (my memory is fading) but my main point is that Letting Companies can write whatever shizzle they like on these contracts they produce (and often charge for writing it ) but that doesn't make it legally enforceable.

But as I said - IANAL.

An open-ended contract that signs your life away for ever would surely be judged unreasonable by a court.

You will (with all due respect here) get better results I suspect if you ask at somewhere like moneysavirngexpert.com

They deal with this sort of thing all the time and *do* have expert lawyers on hand.

FB surely someone in your union can give you advice about this? (Mine covers legal help for rental disputes)

But I'd say get to a solicitor and make it at least that it ends with the 6 months.

I also liked the idea of you paying the rent and the stepdaughter paying you.