Choosing a guarantor partner: What landlords and accommodation providers should look for

If you’re letting a property or accommodation to students or working professionals – particularly international tenants – you’ll already know how common it is for renters to need a guarantor. Managing multiple guarantors, assessing risk, and handling default cases can be time-consuming, inconsistent, and stressful.

That’s why many landlords and accommodation providers choose to work with a professional rent guarantor partner.

But not all guarantor services are created equal.

In this blog, we’ll walk you through the key factors to consider when choosing a guarantor partner, so you can protect your income, support your tenants, and avoid any costly surprises.

What does a guarantor partner actually do?

At a basic level, a guarantor partner agrees to cover your tenant’s rent if they fall into arrears, provided the tenant has taken out a guarantor agreement with the partner. But the best providers offer more than just risk cover. They can help:

Mitigate risk to the landlord
Reduce upfront rent requests
Speed up the lettings process
Improve tenant conversion rates
Provide clarity, confidence, and support for tenants

It’s important to understand not just what they do, but how they do it. So here are some considerations to take into account when selecting your guarantor partner.

Payout guarantee & claims process

Let’s start with the most important question:

“What happens if a tenant can’t pay their rent?”

When partnering with a guarantor service, you need complete confidence that your rent will be covered quickly and in full.

Here are some questions to ask:

What is their payout rate for valid claims?
How quickly do they pay out after a missed payment?
Do they offer a 100% guarantee on valid claims?
Are there any delays, deductions or hidden exclusions?
Do they help get their tenants back on track with rent arrears?

Housing Hand has maintained a 100% payout on all valid claims, with a clear and simple claims process that gives you peace of mind and prompt resolution.

Speed and simplicity

When tenants are ready to move, adding a slow or clunky guarantor application process into the mix can lead to unnecessary delays, missed lettings, and frustrated tenants.

Here are some questions to ask to help you avoid this:

How quickly can tenants be approved?
Is the process online and mobile-friendly?
Can tenants apply from outside the UK?
Are renewals handled automatically?

For landlords and providers managing large numbers of tenants, working with a guarantor service should simplify your process, not add friction.

It’s also worth asking:

Can they integrate with your booking or application platforms?
Is there a dedicated account manager or partner portal?
Do they provide training or onboarding support?
Are co-branded materials available to help promote the service?
Do they support ID verification and keeping you compliant?

Choosing a partner who works with your systems can save your team hours and reduce admin errors.

Support for tenants and partners

Happy tenants are retained tenants, so a great guarantor partner should help you to improve the whole lettings experience and keep your building occupied.

Questions to ask:

Do they have dedicated support for tenants?
Is there a team available to answer partner queries?
How do they educate tenants about their responsibilities?
Do they help prevent arrears, not just respond to them?
Do they provide a mediation process to help get their tenant back on track?

Housing Hand combines tenant guidance with practical resources, including FAQs, live chat, multilingual support, and even wellbeing services, so tenants stay on track (and in tenancy) for even longer.

Flexibility and inclusion

Every tenant’s situation is different. Students, young professionals, and international renters often lack a UK-based guarantor, not because they’re unreliable, but because they’re new to the country. There are also many cases where family members cannot act as guarantors to UK residents because of low income or poor credit history.

Questions to ask:

Do they accept students, professionals, and international tenants?
Are they inclusive of different payment preferences and banking systems?
Do they offer flexible payment options for tenants (monthly vs upfront)?
Do they work with joint tenancies or HMO properties?

Cost and transparency

Transparency is essential. Not just for your tenants, but for you too.

You need to know that the tenant is receiving good service and a fair price. If the tenant is happy with their service, this reduces the risk of them leaving and you being faced with income loss.

Of course, tenants are responsible for securing their guarantor, but this shouldn’t mean unexpected fees or unclear pricing structures.

Here are some questions to ask:

Is the fee clearly stated up front?
Are there any additional admin or renewal charges?
Is there transparency on what the tenant is covered for?
What happens if the tenant leaves early or defaults?

Some providers will offer partnership discounts or commission schemes, but these should never come at the expense of clarity or service quality.

Extra value for your tenants

The right partner will do more for you than just guarantee rent. They should help you create a better rental experience.

Ask about:

Additional tenant support (e.g. at Housing Hand we offer 24/7 GP and counselling services to all of our tenants)
Co-branded materials and marketing support
Digital integration with your booking or lettings platform

Multilingual resources for international tenants