Guarantor Information | Professionals

Guarantor Information for Professional Tenants

If you are not a student at university then you are likely classified as a professional tenant by us. As you are a professional we normally take this to mean that you have a source of income and support yourself. Due to this we would put you through ‘referencing’ to make sure that you can afford your rent and to ensure that nothing negative from your previous rentals is flagged.

Our referencing process includes an ID check, soft credit check, a previous landlord references, and your income. If there are any issues raised during this process we may need to ask you to provide a UK-based guarantor to support your application. This is especially common in graduates who do not have a job lined up yet, or for part-time workers.

A guarantor is someone who signs an agreement to pay your rent if you cannot, and this provides additional security for our landlords throughout the tenancy. That said, if the tenant pays their rent on time and looks after the house, the guarantor is very unlikely to ever hear from us. It is only when something goes wrong where we may contact a guarantor. We always try to maintain an open conversation at this point so that we can try to find a resolution to the problem.

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 have been requested to do this, and even if it is not processes can vary between different letting agencies so it is helpful to have some more information about what the process is likely to look like with us.

We find that it is also helpful to refer back to if you have any questions in the future!

    • Be UK-based and able to prove your 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 36x the tenant’s share of monthly rent (e.g. if the rent is £1000 per month the guarantor would need an annual income of £36,000).

    • If there is more than one person renting the house the full rent is split between tenants so the guarantor would only need to cover the split of the rent for the person they are guaranteeing (e.g. if the rent is £1000 per month split between two people the tenants split of the rent would be £500 so the guarantor would need to prove an annual income of £18,000).

  • I'm self-employed

    • Yes, you can be a guarantor. You will still need to show that you meet the 36x rent salary requirements as we need to see that there is the cash flow required 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 combination reaches the requirement - and you can provide evidence of this - then this would be acceptable.

    I'm retired 

    • We need to see that you have enough income 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 36x the monthly salary then we can accept you as a guarantor.

    I'm not a homeowner

    • We do not have a requirement that you are a homeowner. The requirement for a guarantor is based on earnings and/or savings which is why providing your income is important for us.

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

      • Goodlord is a contract processing platform that has built in online referencing that we use to reference tenants and guarantors, take holding deposits, issue and sign contracts 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.

      • Please do not send us information/documents directly unless requested, all will be required to be uploaded to the Goodlord platform

    • Once the information is supplied Goodlord will carry out their referencing checks on you.

      • Using open banking is normally the quickest and simplest way for referencing to be passed.

      • 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 tablets frequently cause technical issues.

      • Please note that in order to sign, you will need to first scroll to the bottom of the page and open the two required reading documents in separate tabs. These will need to remain open as you sign the contract.

    • Once signed, we will confirm everything on our end. If no further information is needed the process is complete.

  • I’m being asked to supply a lot of information…

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

    I cannot sign the contract… 

    • Use Google Chrome on a laptop or desktop.

    • Avoid phones or tablets as we’ve noticed that people experience more issues on these kinds of devices. 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… 

    • We fully reference each tenant in the house and then if they fail we request a guarantor. As such you will not be guaranteein the whole has as we have evience to show that either the other tenants can cover the rent and any issues themselves, or there would be a guarantor for the other tenants. You can rest assured that the other tenants or guarantors as needed have been properly checked for affordability.

    • In practice, we very rarely have pursued a guarantor for another tenant’s rent arrears. If issues arise, we would typically pursue the individual tenant and their guarantor directly as appropriate (e.g. if needs be, escalating to small claims court).

    • However, it’s important to remember that the tenants are agreeing to a joint contract for the house so, in theory, the guarantors have to take on this responsibility as well. 

    You do not meet the Guarantor requirements…

    • If your nominated guarantor does not meet our criteria, we can ask you to provide an alternative guarantor who does. It doesn’t have to be a parent, it could be a sibling, or even a close friend. But they will have to take on the responsibility to pay your rent if you don’t or cannot.

  • If you haven’t passed your referencing and don’t have a UK-based guarantor to add to your application there are other options you might be able to take.

    Depending on your circumstances you may be able to pay a ‘double deposit’ or pay rent upfront instead.

    A double deposit is a security deposit that is the equivalent of two months rent, rather than the normal one, and the total amount will still be held for the length of the tenancy by the TDS.

    As long as you leave the property in the same condition that you moved into (minus wear and tear), the full 'double deposit’ will be returned to you.

    Depending on your circumstance how much rent we would require as an upfront payment varies. As such this would be something that you would need to discuss with us when we cross that bridge.

    Unfortunately not all landlords would agree to this, so you would have to contact us and we can let you know if this either of these are options could be available to you and some more details regarding 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 we are happy to help!