Guarantor gap limits tenant PRS choices – LRG

Tenants who don’t have family or friends willing to act as guarantors could be narrowing their housing choices before the search has really got going, research suggests.

More than half of surveyed tenants (51%), said they would look for a cheaper property if they needed a guarantor and could not find someone they knew to help, according to LRG.

Another 16% said they would abandon their property search altogether, while just 18% would use a professional guarantor service.

The firm’s Summer 2026 Lettings Report questioned 717 landlords and 860 tenants across England and Wales.

Guarantor awareness remains low

The chief lettings officer at Leaders, part of LRG, Allison Thompson, said: “Landlords need confidence that a tenancy is affordable and sustainable, particularly now that rent in advance is no longer available as an additional safeguard.

“At the same time, tenants who do not have family or friends able to act as a guarantor should not assume they have run out of options.”

She added: “Our research shows there is a real opportunity to make people more aware of professional guarantor services and rent guarantee insurance.

“By explaining those choices early, we can help landlords make informed decisions while giving more tenants a fair opportunity to find the right home.”

Landlords seek more guarantors

Nearly three-quarters of tenants (74%), said they had never heard of professional guarantor services, while another 12% knew they existed but did not know the details.

A further 12% were aware of the services but had never used one, and just 2% had used a professional guarantor.

Among the 37% of tenants who said they had needed a guarantor at some point, 7% had been unable to find one.

Rent guarantee insurance grows

Meanwhile, 54% of landlords said they were now more likely to request a guarantor where an applicant did not comfortably meet standard affordability checks.

Another 28% of landlords said their approach to guarantors had not changed, while 13% said they had always required one where affordability checks were not comfortably met.

Only 5% said they were less likely to request a guarantor because they used other options, including rent guarantee insurance.

Nearly 37% of landlords already had rent guarantee insurance in place and another 19% were considering it, although 17% said they were unaware that this type of protection existed.

LRG said the findings come as guarantors become more important in the application process, with tenants and landlords needing clearer information about the alternatives available.