Guarantor Information | Students

Guarantor Information for a Student Tenant

Students renting houses in Cardiff will generally require 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 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. 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 £2,500 per month split between 5 tenants, each tenant pays £500. The guarantor would need 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 we carry out an in-house reference check by our team.

      • We do our reference checks in-house and confirm salary based on your documents provided and what you have reported to us.

      • 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).

    • Goodlord does request contact information for an employment referee but they are unlikely to be contacted. We do our reference checks in-house and confirm salary based on your payslips and what you have reported to us.

    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 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, and due to our strict guarantor checks, you can rest assured that the other guarantors 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 don’t have a UK-based guarantor there are other options you might be able to take.

    If your landlord allows it, you might be able to pay a ‘double deposit’ instead. This 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.

    Unfortunately not all landlords would agree to this, so you would have to contact us and we can let you know if this option could be available to you.

  • 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!