MarkF Posted April 14, 2007 Report Share Posted April 14, 2007 Hi All I have a couple of questions regarding being a guarantor, hope you can help. Firstly,having signed as a guarantor in june 2005, do my responsibilities automatically roll over each time the lease is renewed? Secondly, as the tenant has defaulted I have been notified of the Landlords intention to seek a money order against me for the outstanding sum, which obviously depending on the first question, I may or may not be obliged to pay. My question is though, at the same time they should seek a possesion order, I have no idea how long this process takes, and in the the interim would I still be liable for ongoing rent defaults? Thirdly, can I seek a possesion order to ensure the tenant doesnt remain in the property after I have settled their arrears? Finally, how can I cease to be, if I still am, the guarantor? Sorry this goes on a bit, thank you for your patience. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wanderer1825 Posted April 15, 2007 Report Share Posted April 15, 2007 It should tell you in the agreement you signed how long you would be committed for. It's usually for the fixed term whatever that was. Usually 6 or 12 months. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Dewsberry Posted April 17, 2007 Report Share Posted April 17, 2007 If the agreement is any good it will be for as long as the tenant remains at the property regardless. i would work closely with the landlord to extricate yourself from this position asap by assisting in what ever way you can to get the T out and so release you from the commitment. basically you will have to adhere to all the financial terms as stated in the lease(subject to the agreement you have signed - personally i would seek immediate legal advice followed by a discussion with the Landlord - who you may find a lot more accomodating than you might think ! As for how long will depend on route Landlord decides to take and attitude of tenant - Tenant could leave immediately or with court actions could take several months - Trenners ???????? would be interested to hear the outcome on this one. if you get no answer on here try posting the question on Landlords forum instead of Tenants - There are a lot of good guys who give you advice on there ! Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J4L Posted May 27, 2007 Report Share Posted May 27, 2007 Hi Mark, I know that this is an 'oldish' post but I tend to disagree with some of the above. Personally If you signed the AST in 2005 then you are only guarantor for the duration of that agreement. If the agreement has now rolled on to a Periodic then you are still bound by the initial agreement. I can't imagine that the Tenant has not signed a new agreement since. If they have then surely you would have been invited to sign the agreement also. As far as I can see if you haven't signed anything then you are not liable for any monies owed by the T to the LL. At the beginning though as guarantor you would have been issued with a copy of what you signed. Have a really good read through this agreement and look for clauses that may have tied you in for longer. If you haven't got a copy speak to the agent who issued this and get a copy. They should have to release a copy under the Data Protection Act unless i'm mistaken. If the landlord has done all the paperwork correctly you are experiencing the responsibilities of a guarantor. Also You will be liable for rent up until the point that the landlord gains full possession of the property. The landlord cannot gain possession if the tenant refuses to hand over the keys and will be guilty of illegal eviction if he doesn't seek a possession order from a Court. If the property or contents have been damaged to an amount in excess of the deposit you could be liable for this too. Ask the landlord what action they have taken to gain possession of the property. Was a notice served when the tenant fell into serious rent arrears? Maybe offer a "without prejudice" agreement to payment of two months rent arrears up or up until the expiry date of the appropriate Notice/s requiring possession (which ever is the lesser sum) otherwise seek legal advice to determine whether or not there are technical grounds for you to take legal action to contest your responsibilities. When did the landlord inform you that the tenant was in arrears? The landlord has a duty to mitigate the potential losses to a guarantor and may not have done so if he failed to issue either S8 or S21 notices or has instigated Court procedures to gain possession. Another question you might ask is whether the landlord used a tenant verification service to assess their tenant. If they didn't then they could be failing in their duty to mitigate potential losses to a guarantor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pauly Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 That's b*ll*cks, the guarantor is bound until the tenant leaves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wanderer1825 Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 " That's b*ll*cks, the guarantor is bound until the tenant leaves " Nice It all depends on the agreement signed by the guarantor. Most agreements (Well mine anyway) state that (In simple terms) the agreement is for the length of the tenancy including any renewals. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J4L Posted June 26, 2007 Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 That's b*ll*cks, the guarantor is bound until the tenant leaves Thanks Pauly how eloquently put. Would you care to state 'which' post or part of post you are referring to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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