You’ve found a house you want to move in to, you like but barely know all or a few of the people you’re moving in with, and suddenly you have to sign a contract that commits you to baring the burden of their rent if they don’t pay it.
A lot of the legal support online advises people to simply find a different housing contract that is a sole tenancy instead of joint and several, but these are few and far between, so we recommend looking at the cover Only My Share can offer you.
A sole tenancy means that each student in the property has their own tenancy agreement because they each have exclusive possession of one specific room while sharing other facilities. In this case, you and your guarantor would only be liable for your rent.
Guarantors can also try and negotiate individual liability with the landlord and ensure they agree on the total amount they could be liable before prior to signing. It’s a very difficult contract clause that favours the landlord but can leave renters in the lurch, especially with the nature of student housing being something young people have to ‘snap up’.