STOP! Read this first and, if in doubt, take advice!
It may seem like a very simple and easy way to really help that friend or family member – all you need to do is sign a form vouching for them and that they’ll pay the rent and then, hey presto! Your friend or family member is able to rent the home they want, and you’ve saved the day just by signing a form. And if life was simple and easy, that’s exactly what would happen.
But life isn’t simple and easy, things go wrong – unexpected bills fly through the letter box, job losses or wage reductions, cost of living increases etc can all mean that your well-intentioned friend or family member falls behind with their rent, and you can very quickly go from “friend who saved the day” to “the Defendant”.
And the biggest problem is, you may not even know there’s a problem until it’s too late! Way too late!
It’s not that your friend of family member will have acted deliberately, set you up, or even been nonchalant or carefree about the predicament they have put you in (not necessarily anyway), but by signing the Guarantor Agreement, you have essentially told the Landlord that if the Tenant doesn’t pay, you will. There’s no time limit on how long a Landlord can allow the rent to be unpaid for before they take steps to remedy the situation – they’re under no obligation either to keep you updated about any rent arrears. So while you continue with life, blissfully unaware of any issues, the Tenant, and in turn, YOU, are getting further and further into debt. According to the Office for National Statistics, the average private rental in Cardiff in November 2025 was £1,147 per month. That can very quickly add up to a sizeable debt.
We have recently handled a matter on behalf of a Guarantor who found herself in receipt of a Letter of Claim from the Landlord’s Solicitors, in respect of a debt she owed in the sum of nearly £12,000. Our client (we’ll call her Claudia) had agreed to act as a Guarantor for her son (we’ll call him Sid) over two years ago. Unfortunately, after around a year of everything going smoothly, Sid stopped paying his rent but didn’t mention this to Claudia. The Landlord therefore served a Notice of Possession based on Serious Rent Arrears on Sid, and the matter ended up in Court with the Landlord obtaining a Court Order for Possession and a Judgment in respect of the arrears. Unfortunately, again, Sid didn’t tell Claudia about any of this and, in fact, did not move out of the property until County Court Bailiffs were instructed to attend, further adding to the debt. Three weeks after the Landlord finally regained possession of the property, his Solicitors sent a Protocol Letter of Claim to Claudia, confirming that she now owed the Landlord nearly £12,000. Prior to receiving that letter, our client had no knowledge of any Possession Proceedings having been brought against Sid, nor of the arrears which had accrued.
The sad situation is that more and more often, we are receiving instructions from Guarantors who have found themselves in a similar situation to Claudia. We’re not saying that Guarantor Agreements shouldn’t exist, and there are countless times when such Agreements have issued a lifeline to a potential Tenant needing help getting into the rental market. But it is imperative that you are clear about the obligations you are agreeing to, and that you have an opportunity to make your own conditions to the Agreement (by example by adding a time restriction to the Guarantee so that your obligations are exhausted after 12 months, or that the Landlord notify you within 14 days if the rent is unpaid etc).
As Solicitors specialising in Landlord & Tenant matters, we can advise on the extent and obligations of a Guarantee, and negotiate the terms of the same upon your behalf, before you agree to sign.
Our advice? Get advice. Before signing!