
The number of tenants being asked to provide a guarantor has jumped sharply in the last year, according to new figures from Generation Rent.
It found that 42% of renters who moved in the past 12 months were asked to provide one, while five years ago the figure was 26%, and for those moving between a year and three years ago it was still only 33%.
The figure is expected to rise after May when tenants faced with landlords looking to manage their financial risk will turn to guarantor services in increasing numbers, and more landlords also suggest they do so as tenants get stronger renting rights.
In August, RentGuarantor became the first property firm to be listed on the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) since Purplebricks’ entrance in 2014. CEO Paul Foy explained that Labour’s renting reforms would present a considerable opportunity for services like his when rent in advance is banned and pointed to the firm’s investment in AI technology to reduce onboarding time from four hours to four minutes.
Generation Rent was one of 29 organisations which wrote an open letter to the government warning that the Renters’ Rights Act could lead to an increase in the number of tenants being asked to provide a guarantor and to further discrimination.
It said landlords would not be prevented from using excessive guarantor requirements to filter out poorer tenants or those on benefits and called on the government to rule out demands for a guarantor where tenants’ income is sufficient to cover the rent, or where the landlord has insurance to cover any non-payment, as well as to limit guarantor liability to six months’ rent.
Its recent survey attracted 711 responses which also found that nearly two-thirds (63%) of renters had been asked for a rent increase, which appears to be falling, with 15% charged at least £100 more per month in the 12 months to September 2025, compared with 22% in October 2024.
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