Tenancy & deposits
What is a guarantor?
A guarantor agrees to meet the tenant's obligations if the tenant does not — most commonly the rent. The agreement must be in writing and its scope is what determines whether it is worth anything.
Scope is everything. A guarantee limited to the fixed term does not cover a periodic tenancy that follows it, and a guarantee for one tenant in a joint tenancy may or may not cover the others' share.
It has to be properly executed to be enforceable, and the guarantor needs to have understood what they signed. Guarantees obtained casually are routinely unenforceable when relied on.
Where a guarantor pays a deposit, the prescribed information has to go to them as well as to the tenant, which is a frequent and consequential omission.
What goes wrong in practice
- A guarantee that ends with the fixed term relied on during a periodic tenancy.
- Joint tenancies where the guarantee's scope was never made clear.
- Prescribed information not served on a guarantor who paid the deposit.