The guarantor trap: How raising the rent could release the person standing behind your tenancy
3 weeks ago | 9 comments
Government tells landlords to review existing guarantor agreements
9:00 AM, 9th July 2026, 1 week ago
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The government is urging landlords to review guarantor agreements that were put in place before the Renters’ Rights Act came into force.
In updated guidance on the fees landlords can charge as part of a tenancy, the government is advising landlords to check existing guarantor agreements following the changes introduced by the Renters’ Rights Act.
The update comes amid a surge in demand for guarantors since the Act was introduced.
Landlords should review existing guarantor agreements
The guidance says: “Landlords can ask a tenant to provide a suitable rent guarantor as a condition of granting the tenancy. In these circumstances, a tenant could choose to contract a professional guarantor service.
“If landlords have a guarantor agreement in place that was entered into before 1 May 2026, then the terms of that agreement could be affected by the tenancy reforms included in the Renters’ Rights Act.
“Landlords should therefore review any existing guarantor agreements and obtain the consent of the guarantor to any variations to the agreement that may be required.
“Landlords and letting agents should seek independent legal advice if they are unclear whether a guarantor agreement is affected.”
Not every tenant has access to a suitable guarantor
Under the Act, landlords and letting agents can no longer accept large amounts of rent in advance.
As previously reported by Property118, this means some tenants may struggle to find a suitable guarantor.
Sam Reynolds, chief executive of Zero Deposit, said: “The challenge is that the traditional guarantor model is no longer practical for many renters.
“Not every tenant has access to a suitable guarantor, and even when one is available, the referencing and verification process can introduce delays at a time when rental properties move extremely quickly.”
According to the English Housing Survey, 21.5% of private renters pay more than one month’s rent in advance.
Zero Deposit claims that, with this option no longer available to landlords, many are expected to seek alternative forms of financial protection.
The deposit company suggests landlords could respond by increasing the affordability threshold from 2.5 times income to three times income.
Tags:
government update, guarantor, guarantor agreement, Guarantor Requirement Increase, Renters’ Rights Act
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Member Since July 2013 - Comments: 2049 - Articles: 21
11:03 AM, 9th July 2026, About 1 week ago
“Landlords should therefore review any existing guarantor agreements and obtain the consent of the guarantor to any variations to the agreement that may be required.
“Landlords and letting agents should seek independent legal advice if they are unclear whether a guarantor agreement is affected.”
This somewhat cryptic advice is unhelpful as to when consent of the guarantor is required to variations. It has been suggested that unless the guarantee expressly covers rent increases then the guarantor’s liability will be extinguished. However, the RRA does not directly affect that.
The suggestion that landlords “obtain the consent of the guarantor ” is wishful thinking. Why would a guarantor agree if to do so would increase his or her potential liability?
Member Since March 2025 - Comments: 8
11:10 AM, 9th July 2026, About 1 week ago
I wonder in what way exactly the “government” thinks that existing guarantee agreements might need to be changed ? As far as I am aware the RRA did not make any mandatory changes to guarantee arrangements. I have reviewed the Guarantor clauses within the tenancy agreements that exist for our properties (standard OpenRent AST Agreement) and there is nothing in there that could be affected by the RRA. The terms explicitly remain in place if and when the tenancy becomes a periodic tenancy.
It looks like another classic example of applying unnecessary pressure to PRS landlords.
Incidentally there is no way we would ever lease out one of our houses without a financially suitable UK resident as a guarantor. Even the tenants support charity (Shelter) acknowledges that a guarantor is “more likely to be accepted” if they are a homeowner and have a good income and good credit rating.
Member Since September 2018 - Comments: 3663 - Articles: 5
11:21 AM, 9th July 2026, About 1 week ago
Reply to the comment left by Ian Narbeth at 09/07/2026 – 11:03
my immediate reaction is that the RRA does not affect existing tenancies in terms of being ‘variations’. A rent increase clause is in the agreement so as a guarantor would have seen the agreement AND signed the guarantor then a rent increase action is accepted. The mechanism in the way the rent increase is done may be via a S13, but that wont have any impact on the guarantee/guarantor as is.
The RRA did not produce any ‘variants’ to existing AST’s when they immediately converted to APT’s.
Member Since October 2020 - Comments: 1264
5:23 PM, 9th July 2026, About 1 week ago
Sounds like scaremongering.