Incisive comments Mapmaker.
You are quite right about the student's ultimate liability if guarantors are forgotten about for a moment. Their rental contract would be for the house as a whole with them being jointly and severally liable so it is possible as you say for them to be taken to court if one of their friends defaults and disappears. However I understand student let landlords rarely do this as it's more trouble than it's worth given, as I mention above, the landlord is already creating a buffer of £750/mth over and above the rental rate to a single family.
The only way out of this for them is to go into a shared house let by the room which they don't want to do as then the landlord can choose any new person if one goes away.
One of our options is to ask the landlord for a guarantor contract that limits liability to losses/damage by our daughter, apparently some landlords agree to this. However it seems it is not totally clear cut in that courts may decide a guarantor of a party to a joint and several tenancy may be bound by the joint and several nature of that initial agreement regardless of any wording in the guarantor's contract that attempts to restrict it.
To be totally safe this restricted guarantor's contract needs to be in the form of a witnessed deed drawn up by solicitors which is extra cost and complication most would seek to avoid.
Paying the landlord the whole years rent up front, similar to your bank account idea, is a way to remove the guarantor issue. We would consider this with the right contract drawn up to protect us but doubt the other parents would.
The Uni do act as a letting agent for many houses but not this particular one. I have been trying to phone them for two days to get an idea what they do with their own properties... no response... long Easter break perhaps!
On your last point there are a variety of reasons students have no parents or parental support and from the student forums it seems they might ask the parent of a friend, forge the guarantor form, rent a room from a dodgy landlord who is happy to let admin slip or even approach the Uni to be allowed to stay on at campus accommodation in yrs 2 & 3 due to their circumstances.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Fri 4 Apr 14 at 11:02
|