Guarantors

Tenants can fall behind on rent or break other terms of the tenancy. One of the simplest ways for a landlord to reduce that risk is to take a guarantor.

A guarantor gives you a second person you can pursue for losses if the tenant does not pay rent or does not meet their obligations.

Why take a guarantor?

If the tenant fails to pay rent or breaches any other obligation, the guarantor may be required to pay. That gives you an alternative route to enforce the tenant’s obligations.

It’s especially useful where:

  • the tenant has low income, a thin credit file, or adverse credit
  • the property is let to students or other low-earning groups
  • you want a practical fallback if you end up chasing arrears

Can you require a guarantor?

Yes. A landlord can make a guarantor a condition of granting a residential tenancy.

Who makes a “good” guarantor?

A guarantor only helps if they can actually pay.

Common acceptance criteria include:

  • being a homeowner
  • minimum income (often set as a multiple of the annual rent)
  • stable employment or provable income
  • good credit history
  • UK resident with a fixed address

Should the guarantor be a homeowner?

Often, yes. A guarantor with assets is usually easier to enforce against (assuming their income also meets the threshold).

You can check home ownership online (for a small fee) via HM Land Registry: https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry

It’s also sensible to run a tenancy assessment report / credit-style check on the guarantor.

Can a family member be a guarantor?

Yes. Family members are commonly used, particularly parents guaranteeing student tenants, provided they meet the financial checks.

Checks and evidence you should obtain

Treat guarantor referencing and ID checks the same as tenant checks (even though the guarantor will not live at the property).

As a minimum, obtain and keep securely:

  • photo ID
  • proof of address (often a recent utility bill)
  • evidence of income (where relevant)
  • a credit/tenancy assessment report

Must a guarantee be in writing?

It should be.

A guarantee can be:

  • a separate guarantee agreement; or
  • a properly drafted guarantee clause/box inside the tenancy agreement

Does the guarantor agreement need to be a deed?

A normal contract needs offer, acceptance, and consideration (something of economic value).

Because the guarantor usually pays nothing, there’s sometimes an argument about where the consideration sits. In practice:

  • if the guarantor signs before the tenancy is entered into, the consideration is usually that the tenancy is granted in reliance on the guarantee (so a deed may not be necessary); but
  • if the guarantor signs after the tenancy has already been granted, consideration is harder to show

A deed avoids the consideration issue. Many landlords, therefore, use a deed and make sure the signature is witnessed.

For a deed to work, it must be clear on its face that it is intended to be a deed, and it must be validly executed (including being signed in the presence of a witness who attests it). See section 1 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989.

What should the guarantee cover?

A guarantee only covers what it clearly states.

Landlords typically want it to cover:

  • rent (including any agreed rent increases)
  • other obligations (for example, damage, cleaning, missed bills, and legal costs where permitted)
  • either:
    • the tenant’s full obligations (for joint-and-several style protection), or
    • a capped amount (if you want a defined limit)

Be explicit about whether the guarantee is:

  • limited to a specific sum or time period; or
  • intended to run until the tenancy ends

The guarantor must review the tenancy terms before agreeing to be a guarantor to ensure they understand the terms they are guaranteeing.

How long does the guarantee last?

Fixed terms, periodic tenancies, and drafting

A common problem: guarantees taken for a fixed term that quietly stop being effective once the tenancy rolls on.

The general approach is:

  • unless the wording clearly says otherwise, a guarantee is usually read as covering the contractual fixed term only
  • it may not automatically extend into a later “holding over” period, a statutory periodic tenancy, or a replacement tenancy unless that intention is clear in the guarantee agreement (Junction Estates v Cope (1974) 27 P & CR 482)

If a landlord seeks a guarantee to continue into an indefinite extension, such as a statutory or contractual periodic tenancy, the wording must state this; any ambiguity will be construed against the landlord.

Renewals and re-grants

Even with strong wording, it’s still risky to assume a guarantee will automatically follow a re-grant on new terms (because the guarantor may not have agreed to the new deal).

If you renew or re-grant the tenancy, ensure the guarantor signs again concurrently. Don’t rely on the old guarantee.

Varying the tenancy can release the guarantor

A guarantor (surety) can be released if the landlord and tenant vary the tenancy terms without the guarantor’s consent. Examples where a guarantor may be released from their obligations include:

  • the tenant granted the landlord more extensive rights of entry into the demised premises
  • the tenant surrendered part of the property
  • the landlord permitted the tenant to retain unauthorised structural alterations
  • the landlord granted the tenant a revocable licence to widen the permitted use of the demised property

A guarantee agreement may include protective language to prevent certain accidental releases (each case would be considered on its own merits). For example, a guarantee may include a term that no neglect or forbearance on the part of the landlord, nor any time given by the landlord to the tenant, will release the surety.

It’s unclear whether a rent increase would constitute a sufficient variation of the tenancy to release the guarantor.

To improve the likelihood of a rent increase not releasing the surety, the following should apply:

  • The tenancy agreement that the guarantor is guaranteeing should have a term allowing a rent increase (note: from 1 May 2026, the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 prohibits increasing the rent of an assured periodic tenancy by a tenancy term, but the written statement must inform the tenant about the mechanism for increasing rent via section 13).
  • The guarantee agreement must also include a term that the guarantee includes any variation in the rent.

If you agree to any material change, think about whether you need written consent from the guarantor or a replacement guarantee.

Guarantor giving notice or withdrawing

Guarantors sometimes write in to “withdraw with immediate effect”.

A guarantee during any fixed term cannot give notice or withdraw unless contrary wording in the agreement exists.

When a tenancy is periodic, the position is less clear. Case law suggests that, unless the guarantee says otherwise, a continuing guarantee can be revoked for future liabilities if the creditor receives “adequate” notice ( Wingfield v De St Croix (1919)).

In practice:

  • “adequate” depends on the facts
  • a landlord may argue that “immediate” notice is not adequate
  • even if a guarantor can withdraw for future liabilities, they remain liable for sums that accrued before any effective withdrawal date

A clear term in the guarantee agreement may assist with notice requirements, and it may be possible to allow notice/withdrawal upon the provision of a suitable replacement guarantee (untested).

This area is contentious. If you receive a withdrawal notice, take advice before accepting it.

Contents of a guarantee

A guarantee form should include:

  • continues during any periodic tenancy (including a statutory periodic tenancy)
  • includes rent increases
  • includes any re-grant of a tenancy to the same tenants
  • cannot be revoked unless a replacement guarantor is provided
  • no neglet by the landlord nor time given to the tenant releases the guarantee

Death of a guarantor

If the guarantor dies, it may be possible to claim against the guarantor’s estate.

Claims against an estate are time-sensitive, and procedural mistakes can be expensive. Get legal advice quickly if you are considering a claim.

Tenant death and guarantors from 1 May 2026 (Renters’ Rights Act 2025)

Guarantors remain permitted after the main tenancy reforms in the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 take effect on 1 May 2026.

Indeed, it could be argued that the principle of a guarantee being permissible during periodic (not just for a fixed term) is reinforced because the provisions below would not be necessary if all guarantees ended at the end of a fixed term (given that all assured tenancies become periodic from 1 May 2026).

From 1 May 2026, a new rule limits what a guarantor can be required to pay in rent after the death of the tenant to whom they are connected (for certain guarantees). This comes from a new section 16N of the Housing Act 1988 (interpretation in section 16P), inserted by section 19 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.

What the new rule does

If:

  • the guarantee is entered into on or after 1 May 2026; and
  • it relates to rent under an assured tenancy;

Then the guarantee is of no effect so far as it requires the guarantor to pay rent attributable to the period from the tenant’s death onwards. That includes the prorated portion of the rent period during which the death occurs.

This is not retrospective. A guarantee entered into before 1 May 2026 is not caught by section 16N (though other legal and drafting issues can still apply).

What “rent after death” means in practice

The Act treats the rent period in which the death occurs as the “relevant rent period”.

The guarantor is not liable for:

  • the part of the relevant rent period that falls on and after the day of death (calculated using the statutory formula below); and
  • all rent for every rent period after the relevant rent period

The guarantor can still be pursued for:

  • any arrears attributable to the period before death (if unpaid)

How the rule applies in different set-ups

Sole tenant

If there is only one tenant and they die, the guarantor’s rent liability ceases from the date of death onward (including the post-death prorated element of that rent period).

Joint tenants where all joint tenants die

If joint tenants all die:

  • if they die on the same day, the switch-off point is that day
  • if they die on different days, the switch-off point is the death of the last joint tenant to die

Joint tenants where the guarantor is a family member of only one tenant

This is the situation the change is clearly aimed at (for example, a parent guaranteeing their child who shares with others).

If:

  • there are two or more tenants; and
  • the guarantor is a family member of only one of them; and
  • that family-member tenant dies;

Then the guarantee is of no effect (for rent) from that tenant’s death onwards, even if the tenancy continues for the remaining joint tenants.

Joint tenants where the guarantor is a family member of more than one tenant

If the guarantor is a family member of more than one joint tenant, the rent guarantee ceases only when all connected family-member tenants have died. If they die on different days, it switches off upon the death of the last to die.

The statutory prorata calculation

For the relevant rent period (the rent period during which the tenant dies), the post-death part of the rent is:

D / T × R

Where:

  • D = the number of days in the relevant rent period which fall on and after the day of death
  • T = the total number of days in the relevant rent period
  • R = the guaranteed rent for the relevant rent period

Worked example (monthly rent, death mid-month)

  • Rent period: 1–30 April (30 days)
  • R: £1,000
  • Tenant dies on 10 April
  • D: 10–30 April = 21 days
  • Post-death amount: 21/30 × £1,000 = £700

Result: the guarantee is of no effect for £700 of that rent period. The guarantor could only be liable (if at all) for the remaining £300 attributable to the days before death, plus any earlier arrears.

Worked example (joint tenancy, “whole tenancy” guarantors, one tenant dies)

Common set-up in shared houses and student lets: one joint tenancy, one contractual rent, and each tenant has a parent guarantor, with each guarantee drafted to cover the “whole tenancy” / joint-and-several.

  • Assured tenancy starting after 1 May 2026
  • Four joint tenants
  • One rent of £2,000 pcm
  • Four guarantors, each drafted as guaranteeing the rent on a whole-tenancy / joint-and-several basis
  • One tenant dies mid-tenancy

Effect:

  • The tenancy continues for the remaining tenants (they remain jointly and severally liable for the full rent).
  • The deceased tenant’s parent guarantor cannot be pursued for rent from the date of death onwards (including the prorated post-death part of the rent period in which the death occurs), even if the guarantee wording says otherwise.
  • The other guarantors are not switched off by that death (because their connected family-member tenant has not died).
  • The Act does not reallocate “shares” between guarantors. It simply removes the deceased tenant’s guarantor from liability for post-death rent by operation of law.

What counts as a “guarantee” for this rule?

For section 16N purposes, it applies to a guarantee:

  • whether or not it is in writing
  • if in writing, whether or not it is in the tenancy agreement
  • even if it also guarantees sums other than rent

Important: the rule only switches off the guarantee so far as it guarantees rent after the relevant death point. It does not automatically cancel any guarantee of other sums (for example, damage). That will depend on the wording and the wider legal position.

“Family member” is defined broadly (and can become “fixed”)

“Family member” is defined widely and includes:

  • spouse, civil partner, or cohabitee
  • a wide range of relatives (including child, parent, grandparent, sibling, niece/nephew, aunt/uncle, cousin) of the guarantor or of the guarantor’s spouse/civil partner/cohabitee
  • the spouse/civil partner/cohabitee of any of those relatives

If someone is a family member when the guarantee is entered into, or becomes one later, they are treated as a family member for these purposes at all times afterwards, even if the relationship later ends.

Summary

A guarantor can improve your chances of recovery if the tenant does not pay or does not meet their obligations, but only if:

  • the guarantor can actually pay
  • you do the basic checks and keep evidence on file
  • ideally require that they be a homeowner (and check on the Land Registry)
  • the guarantee is drafted clearly (especially duration and variation issues)
  • you re-sign guarantees on renewals/re-grants

From 1 May 2026, for new guarantees connected to assured tenancies, the law switches off the guarantor’s liability for rent attributable to the period from the relevant tenant’s death onwards, including a statutory prorata calculation for the rent period in which the death occurs.

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