Information for Parent Guarantors

This brief guide is intended for parents and others acting as Guarantors for students.

General information.

We strongly advise you to ensure that your son/daughter/ward knows the people they intend to share a property with. The better student houses tend to be reserved from January onwards which does not give very long for first year students to select their house mates for the following year.

From a legal point of view most of our tenancy agreements are Joint and Several meaning that all tenants are jointly responsible for the payment of the rent and other costs involved (including any damages!) with the property. As an Agency we are very sympathetic towards students when things go wrong, but we are also responsible to our Landlords who will always want the rent to be paid in full.

The reservation process.

When your son/daughter reserves a property through our agency they will be asked to pay an agency fee and fill out our initial pre-tenancy agreement. This does not bind them to the Term of the Tenancy Agreement. They will also be given referencing forms and a Guarantors Agreement to forward to their Guarantor.

We reference all guarantors through an outsourced referencing and checking agency (cost included in the agency fee) `so it is essential that Guarantors complete the forms as fully as possible. If you feel that some of the information required is too confidential to write on a form, then you can contact the referencing agency directly and provide them with the information over the phone or by another method. Both we, and the referencing agency, are registered under the data protection act and all information provided to us will be treated in confidence.

The Deed of Guarantee.

This document must be signed by the Guarantor and witnessed by another person who is unrelated to the first. As a Guarantor you are legally guaranteeing the rent and all other liabilities under the terms of the tenancy agreement. This is a daunting prospect; as an agency we always ensure that we have fully referenced guarantors for ALL the tenants on the agreement. Therefore although the liability is Joint & Several; all others are in the same position.

As an agency we have never had to chase guarantors for any monies due from tenants other than their own son/ daughter / ward. We are not responsible for the actions of private landlords who use our services for placing tenants only. If you are unhappy about this please speak to us about the property concerned and please read our guide to the students above.

General Responsibility

Finally we would like to remind you that, although you are acting as Guarantor for your daughter/ son / ward, you are not the actual tenant! This, again, is a difficult one to take, but after the letting process is complete and tenants are safely installed, we will only deal with problems raised by the tenants themselves.

We have found from years of experience that most students are able to sort out their own problems. We are, however, happy to discuss issues with parents either over the phone or by email but may ask you to make an appointment to speak to a manager or director who will be able to answer your questions more fully.