Can I Still Ask for a Guarantor Under the Renters' Rights Act 2025?

If you're a private landlord in England, you may be wondering whether guarantor agreements are still valid under the Renters' Rights Act 2025. The short answer is yes — guarantors remain legal. But there are important changes that affect how they work in practice, particularly around deposits and advance rent.

What is a guarantor?

A guarantor is a third party — usually a parent or family member — who agrees to cover a tenant's rent or damages if the tenant fails to pay or causes damage beyond normal wear and tear. Guarantors are commonly used when a tenant has limited credit history, is a student, or is on a low income.

Are guarantors still allowed under the new Act?

Yes. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 does not ban or restrict guarantor agreements. Landlords can still require a guarantor as a condition of granting a tenancy. There is no mention of guarantors being prohibited anywhere in the Act.

What has changed that affects guarantors?

While guarantors themselves are still permitted, two key changes under the Act affect how they interact with your tenancy setup:

Advance rent is now capped at one month. From 1st May 2026, landlords cannot request more than one month's rent in advance for new tenancies. This is a significant change — some landlords previously asked for several months' rent upfront from higher-risk tenants instead of using a guarantor. That option is now gone. If a tenant is higher risk, a guarantor agreement is now one of the few remaining protections available to you.

Deposit rules remain unchanged. The deposit cap stays at five weeks' rent (or six weeks where annual rent is £50,000 or more). A guarantor agreement sits alongside the deposit — it does not replace it and does not affect the cap.

What happens to the guarantee if the tenant dies?

This is the most material change the Renters' Rights Act 2025 brings to guarantor law, and it is the one most landlords have not yet read. Section 16N of the Housing Act 1988, inserted by the Act, ends a guarantor's liability to guarantee further rent when the guaranteed tenant dies. The statutory rule is clear for a sole tenant. How it works out across joint tenancies is set out below as NRLA guidance — the NRLA's reading of the structure rather than wording quoted verbatim from section 16N — so confirm the position for your particular tenancy before you rely on it.

1. Sole tenant. Where the deceased tenant was the only tenant under the tenancy, the guarantor's obligation to guarantee further rent ends on the date that tenant dies. This sole-tenant rule is the confirmed statutory position.

The three joint-tenancy scenarios below reflect NRLA guidance rather than verbatim statute — treat them as a guide and check your specific facts.

2. Joint tenants, none of them a family member of the guarantor. Where there are joint tenants and none of them is a family member of the guarantor, the guarantor's obligation continues until the date the last named tenant dies.

3. Joint tenants, the guaranteed tenant is a family member of the guarantor. Where there are joint tenants and the tenant being guaranteed is a family member of the guarantor, the guarantor's obligation ends on the date that family-member tenant dies.

4. Joint tenants, more than one is a family member of the guarantor. Where there are joint tenants and more than one of them is a family member of the guarantor, the guarantor's obligation ends on the date the last family-member tenant dies.

For the purposes of these four scenarios, a "family member" of the guarantor means the guarantor's spouse, civil partner, or cohabitee; or any child, grandchild, parent, grandparent, sibling (including half-blood or step-sibling), niece, nephew, aunt, uncle, or cousin of the guarantor, or of the guarantor's spouse, civil partner, or cohabitee. Rent for the rental period in which the relevant death occurs is apportioned under Section 16N, so no rent is due for the portion of the period that falls after the death.

The practical effect for landlords is that on a joint tenancy where the guarantor and one of the tenants are family, the guarantee can cease on the death of that family-member tenant even where the remaining joint tenant carries on living in the property. If you have any doubt about which scenario applies to a specific tenancy of yours, ask the AI Comply assistant on the platform for the four-scenario breakdown applied to your facts.

What should a guarantor agreement cover?

A well-drafted guarantor agreement should clearly state:

• The full name and address of the guarantor
• The address of the tenancy being guaranteed
• What the guarantor is liable for — rent arrears, damage, or both
• Whether the guarantee is limited to a fixed term or continues for the life of the tenancy
• Whether the guarantor's liability survives changes to the tenancy (rent increases, tenant changes)

This last point is particularly important under the new Act. Because all tenancies will become periodic from 1st May 2026, there is no fixed end date. Your guarantor agreement should explicitly state whether it continues beyond any initial period — otherwise a guarantor could argue their liability ended when the original fixed term would have expired.

Does a rent increase affect the guarantor agreement?

Potentially yes. If you increase the rent using the new Section 13 Form 4A process, and your guarantor agreement does not explicitly cover rent increases, the guarantor may argue they are only liable for the original rent amount. It is worth having your guarantor agreement reviewed if you plan to increase the rent.

Practical advice for landlords

If you are taking on a new tenancy from 1st May 2026 and want a guarantor:

1. 1Use a written guarantor agreement — verbal guarantees are extremely difficult to enforce
2. 2Make sure the agreement references the periodic nature of the tenancy
3. 3Confirm the guarantor understands their liability survives rent increases if that is your intention
4. 4Keep the signed guarantor agreement with your tenancy documentation
5. 5Serve the Written Statement of Terms to the tenant before they sign — this is now a legal requirement

The bottom line

Guarantors are still a valid and useful tool for landlords under the Renters' Rights Act 2025. With advance rent now capped at one month, they are actually more important than before for managing risk on higher-risk tenancies. Make sure your guarantor agreement is in writing, clearly drafted, and references the ongoing periodic nature of the tenancy.

For help with other documents required under the new Act, create a free account — our document generators are built specifically for the Renters' Rights Act 2025.