Student Accommodation

Date Added: 31 January 2011

It is around this time of year that many students are choosing their accommodation for the next academic year. Many students will look for houses that can accommodate a number of students. Invariably student landlords will insist on formal legal documentation and require the students to enter into formal Tenancy Agreements.

Many Landlords will also require parents to stand as Guarantors for their children.

It is important for students and parents alike to understand the concept of what is legally known as “joint and several liability”. Broadly, this means that the tenants are each liable for the full amount of rent and other payments due under the tenancy. If any one or more of the other tenants fail to make their rent payments then the landlord can look for any one or more of the remaining tenants for the full payment.

The same applies with guarantors. Many Landlords provide tenancies which include a guarantee clause for parents to sign. Unwittingly, this can make the parents liable for the default of other tenants. These “cross-guarantees” are very unfair. It is possible that the students themselves will not know each other particularly well and the parents will certainly not know the other tenants or their families’ financial circumstances.

It is important for students and parents to seek legal advice on any Tenancy Agreement that they are being asked to sign. If you or your children require our assistance, then please contact any one of our property team.

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