Guarantor Information

Guarantor Information for a Tenant that is a Student

Students renting houses in Cardiff will generally need a guarantor to co-sign their tenancy agreement for the house they are renting. Here at The Living Room Letting Agency this is a standard requirement for the vast majority of our houses.  

As most tenants are students, they typically rely on student loans to cover their rent payments. We do however understand that student income can be limited, and the government who provides these loans expects parents and guardians to support students to help cover living costs. For this reason, we require guarantors to provide additional security for our landlords throughout the tenancy. 

Below we have compiled some useful information to guide you through the process of becoming a guarantor. For a lot of our guarantors this is the first time that they will have been requested to do this, and even if it is not processes can be different in different letting agencies so it is helpful to have some more information about what the process is likely to look like. We find that it is also helpful to refer back to if you do have any questions in the future!

Requirements to be a Guarantor

  • Be UK-based and able to proof of address (e.g. a utility bill in your name) 

  • Provide proof of identity, including photographic ID and a selfie 

  • Have an annual income of at least 32 times the tenants share of monthly rent (e.g. if the rent is £2,500 per month split between 5 tenants, each tenant pays £500, so the guarantor would need an annual income of £16,000)

The Process

  • The applicant will nominate you as a guarantor by providing your name, phone number, and email address via a platform called Goodlord 

  • Goodlord is an online referencing platform that we use to reference tenants and guarantors, take holding deposits, issue and sign contract and guarantor agreements, and take deposits

  • The entire process is completed online so there is no need to visit our office which is particularly helpful for guarantors based elsewhere in the UK 

  • Goodlord will request that you supply information for referencing. They may ask for a range of details so please supply as much information as you are happy with 

  • Once the information is supplied we carry out an inhouse reference check by one of our team (most likely Claire or Mary)

  • If any additional information is required we will contact you directly to request this

  • You will then be asked to sign the guarantor agreement

  • We recommend using Google Chrome on a laptop or a computer, as mobile devices and tables frequently cause technical issues

  • You will also need to open the required reading documents in separate tabs before signing 

  • Once signed, we will confirm everything on our end. If not further information is needed the process is complete

FAQ for Guarantor Qualification

I'm self-employed 

  • Yes you can be a guarantor. You will still need to show that you are receiving enough money to be a guarantor as we need to see that there is cashflow to help cover the rent if needed 

I’m self-employed and only make £12570 a year 

  • If this is your salary but you top this up with dividends and this combined reaches the threshold and you are able to show us evidence of this then we will be able to consider this towards your salary 

I'm retired 

  • We need to see that you have cash to cover any missed rent. If you are receiving a pension, or have savings you can provide evidence of this on Goodlord which we can consider as equivalent to salary so if this is above 32 times the monthly salary then we can accept you  

I'm not a homeowner

  • We do not have a requirement that you are a homeowner. The requirement for a guarantor is based on cash flow which is why providing your income is important for us

Common Issues

It is a lot of information - 

  • Goodlord is a national company that complies fully with GDPR and has a strict privacy policy (available on request)

  • Goodlord does request contact information for an employment referee as we do our references in house and we do not need this information so we will most likely not contact them especially if you can prove income with payslips

I cannot sign the contract 

  • Use Google Chrome on a laptop or desktop 

  • Avoid phones or tablets as you are not able to sign this way. If you do not have a computer you may need to borrow someone else's to sign the contract 

  • Ensure you have scrolled down and opened the two required reading documents in separate tabs 

I don't want to guarantee the whole house 

  • The tenants are agreeing to a joint contract for the house so the guarantors have to take on this responsibility as well 

  • We will request a guarantor from each tenant so whilst you are technically agreeing to be a guarantor for the whole house, so is each of the other guarantors 

  • In practice, we have never pursued a guarantor for another tenant’s missed rent. If issues arise, we would typically pursue the individual tenant and their guarantor directly (e.g. via the small claims court).

Guarantor does not meet the requirements 

  • If your nominated guarantor does not meet our criteria, we can ask you to provide an alternative guarantor who does

I don't have a guarantor. What can I do?

If you don’t have a UK based guarantor that meets the above criteria alongside your deposit of one months rent depending on the landlord for the house that you are renting you may instead be able to pay a double deposit which is the equivalent of two months rent held by the deposit scheme that we use (TDS). Unfortunately not all landlords would agree to this agreement so you would have to contact us and we can let you know what your options would be. 


I have other issues that are not covered in this 

You can get in touch with us at the Living Room Letting Agency to supply you with some more information and answer your questions. We are here to make the process as smooth as possible for everyone involved so would be happy to help!