UK Landlord Forum / Life

I have found out that my letting agent has let my tenant's guarantor move in with her when I attended the property to carry out some maintenance. I am very concerned about this as I feel that this is a conflict of interest, when I asked the letting agent about this I was informed they knew about this fact and that she had been there 3 weeks and that it was nothing for me to worry about as what did it matter if the guarantor was living at the tenant's address. However 3 months on and she is still there no change to the tenancy agreement and the only person who seams concerned about this fact is me. Does anybody know if this is legal and do I have a claim for negligence against my letting agent?

Wow, that's an odd one. Never heard of that scenario before.

I totally agree, it is a conflict of interest. I'm not sure I would be comfortable with that at all. The Letting agent should have informed you that the new tenant was your other tenant's Guarantor.

I will try and find out what the deal is with this!

Jools, do you know the answer to this?

I would have thought that if the letting agents know about the arrangement - if its all goes t**s up then you could sue them for incompetance. Thing is even though they have moved in together - the guarantor is still the guarantor. If they are in a relationship then I am not sure what can be done unless you can prove you are being disadvantaged by the arrangement. It may seem on the outside to be a conflict of interest but I think it only would be if the guarantor suddenly wanted to stop. Reads a  bit funny that but hope you get the gist!!

Hey PF! How you doing?

Can one person be a "guarantor" and "joint tenant"? That's what I'm not sure about. But as long as they have separate tenancy agreements, I don't think it should be a problem.

Good thanks, Jools. How about you? You started blasting the wine down your throat yet?

Thanks for your replies on this subject, However just a bit more information. When I first Queried the fact she was living there along with the tenant at the letting agents I was informed that this was only a temporary arrangement of 2- 3 weeks as is allowed in the tennacy agreement. It is now nearly 3 months and there has been not change to the agreement and she is not there as a joint tenant in fact the tenant is claiming dss benefit as a single person to afford the rent on the property. I am now concerned that the letting agent has acted negligently and without any thought of my interest as a client leaving me exposed to risk.

P.S they are not a couple only living there as friends.

If the person who is the guarantor is living in the property but without a tenancy in their name then you are on very sticky ground. They have no legal responsibilities towards the property as he/she is not a tenant, only a financial guarantor.  Your letting agency should be fired for this as they have not acted in your interests.

The least your agents should have done is gained your permission and added them to the tenancy with a new agreement. However, if this were the case they should technically have asked for another guarantor as the sole purpose of having a guarantor is to protect the financial interest of the landlord should either/both tenants default.
In this case if your tenants defaulted then so will have your guarantor !.  The guarantor must be a separate financial entity from the tenant(s).  There's nothing in law that says this (that I know of) but otherwise there's no point having a guarantor if they're the same person as the tenant !.

The worst bit is that if the DSS find out about the tenant falsely claiming allowances as a single person they could :

a) stop her benefit
b) if the DSS pay her housing benefit as rent to you direct, you of course will have no rent.
c) if she has been overpaid housing benefit due to this situation, the DSS can, if item b) is true, reclaim the overpayments in rent from YOU as the landlord !.  This is one reason I don't take DSS claimants as tenants.

You need to get this sorted asap.

I agree with Caerhays. You should not have someone in your property who does not have an agreed AST in force or who is not added to the existing tenancy agreement. The normal AST should allow temporary stays - ie for friends etc but anything longer needs to be formalised.

Are you sure the tenant is not subletting? You need to write a very robust letter to your letting agent. They have not ensured that the second tenant is not living there permanently. Are they managing agents?

Hey PF - wine going down nicely!

I think you are right - IF JOINT tenant then NO-NO. If living there only on temporary basis MAYBE ok.

Needs sorting ASAP as at the moment livewire, how do  you propose removal of the person without the tenancy agreement? Can't do it via section 21 or 8 as they are not tenants! Could they claim squatters rights?

Jools / Caerhays many thanks for your reply and advise.
The more I look into this the more concerned I become, I guess I should add a bit more information on the subject the letting agent is the managing agent. No DSS payments are being made directly to myself, they are being paid to the letting agent who then makes a payment to myself.
I have made complants at the letting agents office and to the area manager verbally informing them of the bad service I have received and how their actions have exposed me to risk. I have been informed by e mail after a week has passed by the area manager that he has looked into all my complaints and can find no fault on their part. I have now replied to his response in great detail listing dates, times and all their actions informing him that I feel they are negligant in their duties to me as a client and that they need to accept their responsiblity for their actions which leave me exposed to great risk. 
I am now thinking of writting to the ombudsman for lettings does anybody know if this will get me anywhere.
Or should I just name and shame them on the website so other landlords are protected for their laughable service.

Kind Regards

Livewire

Hi livewire,

Is your Letting Agent an Estate Agent or Estate Agent or both ?. They may be a member of a trade association which sets standards for them. If so I would say that if you get no satisfaction from them then their Trade Association should be your next call.

My tennancy aggreement say's nobody else should have a key to the house if they're not on the tennancy agg even my 15 yr old daughter lol

I am very concerned about this as I feel that this is a conflict of interest, when I asked the letting agent about this I was informed they knew about this fact and that she had been there 3 weeks and that it was nothing for me to worry about as what did it matter if the guarantor was living at the tenant's address.