Signing a guarantor deed

[Twentyfour7]

Hi

I am looking to get a guarantor agreement signed for an Assured Shorthold Tenancy contract . I understand the best way to do this is as a "Deed". Is it correct it should be signed by the guarantor in advance of the tenancy contract being signed by the tenants and should be a witnessed wet signature .

I would be grateful for advice on how you would go about this if

1. the guarantor is able to attend to meet the landlord when the tenant attends to sign the contract and

2. if the guarantor is not able to attend and meet the landlord

Is there anything else that needs to be considered to make sure the guarantor agreement is valid other than using an appropriate document and conducting reference and credit checks please

thank you

[OMITN]

Twentyfour7 said:

Hi

I am looking to get a guarantor agreement signed for an Assured Shorthold Tenancy contract . I understand the best way to do this is as a "Deed". Is it correct it should be signed by the guarantor in advance of the tenancy contract being signed by the tenants and should be a witnessed wet signature .

I would be grateful for advice on how you would go about this if

1. the guarantor is able to attend to meet the landlord when the tenant attends to sign the contract and

2. if the guarantor is not able to attend and meet the landlord

Is there anything else that needs to be considered to make sure the guarantor agreement is valid other than using an appropriate document and conducting reference and credit checks please

thank you

Generally speaking a deed is a type of contract that has certain features (and is often used when a guarantee is being provided for obligations under a separate agreement).

The easiest way to execute a deed is for it to be signed by the party/parties to it and each party to have their signature witnessed at the moment they sign it.

For a guarantee to be effective there must be something to guarantee. That generally indicates the deed of guarantee will reference the assured shorthold tenancy (which has come into effect under the AST agreement). But in reality everything is usually just signed and dated at the same time. I wouldn;t stress about this.

You can sign in person or remotely and it's not always - depending if there is a counterparts clause - necessary to sign the same physical document. It's also possible to sign and witness deeds electronically (i.e. doesn't have to be wet ink), but the witnessing element makes that harder (if you have someone fussy to deal with). What is easiest for you?

If you tell us some more detail (which role you're playing - tenant/guarantor/landlord) and how you want to achieve the right outcome, I'll give you a suggestion as to how best to do it.

[Twentyfour7]

Thats very kind of you and thank you for the very prompt response.

I am the landlord and have been advised the Lawsociety states the guarantor deed needs to be a witnessed wet signature to be valid. The link here states the guarantor deed must be signed in advance of tenancy contract being signed

https://lettingshub.co.uk/letting-agents/blog/guar...