There are lots of traps a landlord can fall into that can mean the guarantor agreement that they thought they had is actually worthless if they should come to claim on it.

So, how should a good guarantor agreement (or deed of guarantee) be structured to ensure you are properly protected and how to go about claiming on it?

Lots of landlords operating in the student market use guarantors to ensure that someone with money will pay the rent in the event that the tenant defaults.

While guarantors are often associated with the student market, they may also be used for any tenant who a landlord thinks may struggle to pay the rent or otherwise fail to look after a property in a "tenant like manner." They are also used (though less often) in company lets where a director may act as a guarantor on a company let.

The key thing that a landlord should do is to carefully check out the guarantor.