Updating post from Reddit.
I have an issue being a tenant out of work. Unfortunately even in work I am in a high rental area. Lha is 700 pcm. A one bed is approx 900pcm. The guarantor (my mother) has no problems paying my extra rent, so approx 200 pcm,which is pocket change to her. And is happy to guarantee the rent for the whole tenancy. So I'm a finding hard to see why no one would want to rent to me. Could a landlord explain.
A guarantor is only in place in the event of having to take them to court. Not actually something a LL has the inclination to do. It's a matter of affordability and you just can't afford the rent.
This is the answer. You simply can't afford the rent because you don't have income to cover it.
Unfortunately, life isn't fair - so your choices are likely:
You're a cunt
You do not have the personal income to rent. Your mother covering part of your rent means you may fail background/credit checks.
Usually guarantors need to be UK property owners. Cash is transferable so it can be removed from the guarantors bank once the agreement is made and then they may not be able to pay when required. Houses are far less liquid and less likely to be sold and the money used elsewhere leaving them unable to pay making homeowners preferable for this.
Also there are more people wanting to rent at the moment than houses. People who don’t need a guarantor will be far more attractive as tenants.
(I’m not sure what LHA is could you clarify as that may provide more insight)
Not op, but since kind of local housing allowance would be my guess.
That makes sense. That can also have an effect if multiple offers have been put in on a property.
Lha is housing allowance in my area for a one bed I would receive 700pcm. Most flats are around 800-900pcm. Also my mother is a home owner, she actually has two homes.
Then the main reason is you’re short £200pcm for the rent.
Best bet is probably for your mother to purchase a property and rent it to you. Then it's an appreciating asset for her. Specialist advice would be required regarding the most tax efficient way of doing this for her though.
They wouldn't get help with rent then and would then have to find means of paying the rent to there mother unless she just let's them live there for free. Benefits don't pay rent if the property is owned by family due to potential fraud
Thanks I do hopefully plan to buy. I am waiting for my father's inheritence. My mother's not willing to help with a lump sum until my dad's estate is finalised, as my siblings would have a bitch fit. I literally just need a flat to rent for like 6 months, year tops.
Your guarantor has 400k in the bank? That doesn't mean anything. They're not the ones renting.
The only thing that matters is if you can afford the rent and it sounds like you can't? That's why no one will rent to you, unless you recieve benefits, I can't see much luck out of this. Hopefully things work out
I just explained In my post I recieve benefits. My local housing I can claim is 700pcm. The I get about 450 pound money for myself.
Either way, it's a matter of luck. Sadly, someone who is in full time work will be more favorable over someone who isn't. Are you able to go on the council list? Even if you offered a big deposit that could help your chances?
I don't want to have an ongoing agreement where I potentially have to chase two people for money, particularly a guarantor which would involve the courts. That's basically 90% of it. The 10% is as a consequence of the upcoming legislative changes we don't feel it's worth the risk to rent to benefit claimants, so the rent is priced above that threshold - renting to someone regardless of that undermines the rule.
There are a lot of benefit tenants that don’t respect the properties because they aren’t paying for them.
You absolutely might not be one of the bad ones, but prospective landlords aren’t to know that. I can’t say this is the same for every area, but in my location, there’s no shortage of rental applicants from two income working couples.
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I think OP is suggesting their guarantor has £400k in the bank, not them.
Fair comment sorry OP I will delete
It is far from simple to get a guarantor to pay up if the tenant doesn’t pay. There are plenty of cases where courts have overturned guarantor agreements for legal reasons, for example.
Also, the fact that the tenant has a low income (which is why they need a guarantor in the first place) means they are more likely to default on their rent, and even if the guarantor does end up paying up, it’s means a lot more hassle for the landlord.
So, if I had two applicants to choose from, identical except that one can comfortably afford the rent whereas one needs a guarantor, then I’m afraid I’m picking the first one every time. Given that landlords have plenty of applicants to choose from - there’s your answer.
It is far from simple to get a guarantor to pay up if the tenant doesn’t pay. There are plenty of cases where courts have overturned guarantor agreements for legal reasons, for example.
Also, the fact that the tenant has a low income (which is why they need a guarantor in the first place) means they are more likely to default on their rent, and even if the guarantor does end up paying up, it’s means a lot more hassle for the landlord.
So, if I had two applicants to choose from, identical except that one can comfortably afford the rent whereas one needs a guarantor, then I’m afraid I’m picking the first one every time. Given that landlords have plenty of applicants to choose from - there’s your answer.
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Thanks I know that. I'm stuck in this area for the time being trying to sort out my late fathers estate. Once it's sorted I'll be able to move where I like. 😊😊 Unfortunately my mum needs some help, so shes trying to help me and I'm trying to help her.
I assume she doesn’t live in the area? If she does can you live with her?
I could do. But would like my own space you know.
What a dickish comment. Even with a full time job it's almost impossible to afford to rent pretty much anywhere in the UK now due to rising rents.
I bet you're a fucking greedy landlord as well.
Exactly this. When I worked I struggled to rent. But I wanted to stay in the area, as I knew my dad was gonna die soon. In that time I lost my job through no though of my own (I actually got a out of court settlement for unfair dismissal) now the rents. Have gone up in this area massively and it's just impossible. I am actually better off not working right now. Mad isn't it.
I'm sorry to hear you lost your dad and please don't let AHs like the original commenter make you feel any negativity. You're absolutely right, it's really tough now. DM me if you'd like to just chat sometime.
I hand over the keys to the property management company and they deal with it, with their own rules.
It's not necessarily landlords who decide this stuff.
Could you have some system where you mum is the one who pays 100% of your rent? Maybe it comes from her account. But you just pay her the £700pm anyway?
You could also move back in with your mum? I've got friends who (sadly) have gone back and forth between their parents and their current medium-term partner.
Or you could move to a cheaper part of the country.
In terms of guarators, it's not what they have in the bank. It's their income that matters. If your mum has 400k hanging around, could you borrow or be gifted some of it and buy your own house?
> So I’m a finding hard to see why no one would want to rent to me.
Realistically there’s plenty of people out there with the income to afford the rent, and you don’t. That’s basically it.
There are far more less risky tenants that will pass the affordability test.
Harsh but reality. The only option is to have the tenancy in your mums name with you as a named party.
Thanks for the comments definitely gonna see how I could get around this. I'm thinking though how do students manage surely some of the have rich parents that pay their rent for them when they go to uni. Surely the tenancy is still in the students names, not the parents.
Student agreements are different. They're joint & severally liable, meaning I could pursue any of them or as a consequence any of the guarantors if there is an outstanding debt, and it is and will still be easier to regain posession at the end of a term than it is for a regular residential let.
This has been pretty well answered already. On the guarantor side - money in the bank means nothing. Money moves. Money is lost. Money is spent.
If a guarantor owned a £200k house that's more attractive than cash in the bank.
Oh OK I wasn't aware. She owns Two houses. Ones worth 300k the other one was my late fathers. Worth 620k.
The basic issue is that in most areas, most landlords have 20+ qualified applicants for each available property. Given the choice between a person who is jobless and is relying on someone else to afford the rent, and a person or couple who can easily afford it on their own incomes, almost all are going to pick the people that are clearly able to pay.
The reasons for the shortage of properties to rent is complicated, but it's not changing any time soon. It might even get worse.
As such, you are just going to have to keep applying, and hope you find a landlord with few other applicants to pick from. I'd suggest you start looking in more unusual places, like asking friends and family if they know anyone with a place to rent that's not been publicly advertised, as you are much less likely to have competition. You might also need to expand your search to things like shared accommodation, where landlords tend to be less strict about income checks.
In the meantime, keep trying to get a job of some sort. Any sort!