This is a question to the blog clinic from Julie, who is a guarantor in England.
My daughter has received 4 x S13 notices for her bed sit all have been incorrect, dates amounts etc. They sent a S13 notice a month ago then retracted it, they stated sent in error.
They now state that she owes over £600 in back rent. I am a guarantor but have never received any of these notices. However, I receive emails about other aspects regarding the maintenance of the building etc
Where do we stand? I’m confused and have requested all the section 13 notices received to compare the issues with each one. I thought they were only allowed to send 1 x S13 notice per year.
Not sure how to proceed !!!
Answer
If you are a guarantor, then if the rent has been increased, this will have invalidated your guarantee.
Your guarantee was in respect of the rent as set out in the tenancy agreement. If the rent has been increased, then you are not liable – as you did not agree to guarantee that higher rent.
This is why landlords need to get guarantors to sign new guarantee deeds when the rent is increased.
However, it sounds as if the rent may not have been increased if they have made that much of a mess of the section 13 notices!
Probably the best thing is to ask them for a schedule of arrears showing how this alleged £600 arrears figure arose. Then, if the schedule shows that the rent has gone up, ask for proof of this. If the proof is a defective s13 notice, then reply saying that the rent has not increased as the notice was defective.
If it looks as if the notice was correct and the rent may have gone up, then you can tell them that the rent increase has invalidated your guarantee!
The post Can a Guarantor Be Liable After a Rent Increase via Section 13? appeared first on The Landlord Law Blog.