Q: I HAVE rented for many years now, using several lettings agents, though I need to move again and the new letting agent is insisting that I provide a guarantor.

I am 47 years old and have never missed a rental payment.

Why is the agent insisting that I provide a guarantor as I am not prepared to ask my son, whom they have suggested.

A: When an applicant applies for a property to let, the letting agent will typically request that an application form is filled in.

The form will include details of your employer, how long you have been in employment with your current employer and the salary that you current earn.

From this information, a salary multiplier may be applied to work out a minimum figure that is required to enable you to get through the income part of the application.

Should you not meet this minimum figure then you will be required to provide a guarantor.

The purpose of the guarantor is to provide additional security for the Landlord as it is considered more of a risk to accept a tenant who does not meet these minimum requirements.

This can also be the case if you are self-employed or claiming some forms of benefits that assist with rent, namely Housing Benefit, have a low credit score, precious bankrupt or have CCJ (country court judgement(s).

Where we have needed to request a guarantor, it is rare that an applicant has not been able to source a suitable person to act, even if that means calling on a son/ daughter, sibling, parent or friend.

However it is rare that we ever have to call upon the guarantor, unless the tenant defaults.

I did have a case several years ago where this did happen and I needed to obtain a court order, followed by instructing a bailiff before possession was finally obtained.

This involved £6,500 of unpaid rent, court fees, interest and dilapidations.

I personally represented my Landlord in a two hour court case and was awarded everything that I was claiming.

After a three year payment plan we recovered all the money owed.

However, please note that not all letting agents deal with court work and if your current agent does not include this as part of their service then you will need to instruct a solicitor or property company dealing in these matters.

Typically their costs would exceed £1,000 and you have to remember that there is still no guarantee that you will get the money back, should the guarantor refuse to pay and you are unable to place a charge on say property or obtain an order for payment from salary.

As this example demonstrates acting as a guarantor does make the guarantor legally liable.

It is therefore recommended that a guarantor is offered the opportunity to obtain independent legal advice from a solicitor or the Citizens Advice Bureau before signing.

There are times when we have been able to overcome the problem of an applicant not providing a guarantor by maybe providing a higher deposit as security.

However some Landlords may have a rent guarantee policy or legal expense insurance in place.

Part of the condition of such policies is that a credit reference agency needs to compile the report and secondly that an applicant is accepted, not declined at application point, or if declined subject to providing a guarantor and that a satisfactory guarantor is provided that does pass the application process.

Landlords also need to be aware that the need for a guarantor is typically only assessed at the point of application.

However, there are times when good tenants’ circumstances change over the tenancy maybe as a result of redundancy, so it is important at times to reassess a tenant’s financial situation.

Please continue to send in your letting related questions to steven@sawyersestateagents.co.uk