How a lease guarantor can support your rental application

Key Takeaways

• Guarantors provide a financial backstop by agreeing to cover missed rent payments, helping applicants qualify for housing they might not otherwise secure.
• Property managers may require guarantors when applicants fall short on income, credit, rental history, or group application qualification criteria.
• Guarantors typically complete screening similar to applicants, including financial verification, credit checks, and signing a legally binding guarantor agreement.
• Guarantors generally must demonstrate stronger financial qualifications than a single applicant and may be required to pay an application fee.

If you’re thinking about using a guarantor, or you’ve been asked to add a guarantor to your rental application, you’re not alone. Adding a guarantor is a common and straightforward way to strengthen your application and secure the home you want. Here’s what you need to know about guarantors—who they are, why they’re required, and what to expect if you invite one to apply.

What’s a guarantor?

A guarantor is someone—often a parent, relative, or close friend—who agrees to take financial responsibility for your lease if you’re unable to make rent payments. They don’t live in the rental but serve as a financial safety net for the property manager, ensuring that rent will be covered even if unexpected circumstances arise. This is different from a co-applicant or co-signer, who is expected to pay rent and has the right to live in the property.

The guarantor's agreement to take on financial responsibility in the case of missed rent provides extra assurance to the property manager. When you apply to a home, the property manager will use a standard set of qualifications to assess your ability to pay rent—a platform like Findigs is designed to make this process easier for everyone. Property managers do this to lower the amount of financial risk they’re taking on by entering the lease agreement. With a guarantor in the mix, there’s an additional safeguard against loss from missed rent payments, which allows the property manager to accept residents who might not otherwise qualify.

Why do property managers require guarantors?

Property managers use financial criteria, like income and credit score, to evaluate whether an applicant can reliably pay rent. If the property managers finds that an applicant or group of applicants doesn’t meet certain qualifications on their own, the property manager may require you to add a guarantor.

Some common reasons you may be asked to add a guarantor include:

• Your income is below the required threshold (often a multiple of the monthly rent).
• Your credit score doesn’t meet the minimum requirement.
• You don’t have a long rental or credit history (if you’re a student or moving to a new country, for example).

If you’re applying with co-applicants, the need for a guarantor may arise based on the way that income is evaluated across the entire group. For example, if the property manager looks at the average credit score across all applicants, one person’s lower score could prompt the request to provide a guarantor—even if your own score meets the requirement.

What to expect when adding a guarantor

Once you’ve found a guarantor willing to support your application, they’ll typically need to go through a screening process similar to yours. This often includes:

• Providing proof of financial standing by linking a bank or payroll account, or submitting documents like paystubs and/or bank statements.
• Undergoing a credit check to ensure they have strong credit history.
• Signing a guarantor agreement that legally binds them to cover any missed rent payments.

Because a guarantor is agreeing to cover the cost of any missed payments, they’ll typically need to prove a stronger financial standing than what’s expected of a single applicant. Requirements vary by property, but guarantors generally need a stable income and strong credit history. In most cases, the guarantor will pay an application fee similar to the applicant’s, since their information will also need to be processed and evaluated.

Finding the right guarantor

A guarantor should be someone who:

• Has a steady income and good credit
• Fully understands the responsibility they’re taking on
• Is willing and able to step in if needed

Moving forward with confidence

Adding a guarantor may feel like an extra step, but it can be an essential part of the rental process. It allows property managers to reduce risk while giving renters access to housing opportunities they might not qualify for on their own. If you need a guarantor, take the time to find someone who meets the financial requirements and understands their role. Once approved, you’ll be one step closer to securing your new home.

At Findigs, we’re making the rental process smoother and more transparent for both renters and property managers. When you apply to a property that uses Findigs, you’ll have a clear understanding of what’s expected from the get-go, and you’ll be notified by our team if the need for a guarantor arises. Whether it’s strengthening your application with a guarantor, replacing your security deposit with Termwise, or getting a fast answer about a home you love, we’re here to make every step in the rental process simpler and more straightforward for everybody.

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