Only My Share flags up growing concern, as 1 in 5 guarantors baulk at rent responsibility

Only My Share flags up growing concern, as 1 in 5 guarantors baulk at rent responsibility

by Louise United Kingdom
  • 1 in 5 guarantors walking away from signing due to joint liability for rent in HMOs
  • 38% month-on-month sales uplift for Only My Share’s solution to this issue
  • Agents saving time and headaches by promoting rent arrears protection

Rent arrears protection service Only My Share has reported a 38% month-on-month uplift in sales, as confidence returns to the student rental market once more. Students confirming that they will be renting for the 2021/22 academic year have also driven a 48% uplift in sales compared to the same period last year.

However, the company has also flagged up a growing area of concern. Student letting agents are reporting that around one in every five guarantors is now disputing the element of the tenant’s guarantor agreement that holds them jointly liable for the rent.

“Many students rent in Houses of Multiple Occupation, known as HMOs. Under a joint and several liability clause in a tenancy agreement, if one tenant doesn’t pay their rent, everyone else becomes liable for it. With awareness of this growing, along with a fragile economic backdrop, there is an increasing reluctance by many individuals to sign up as guarantors.”

Edmund Fulford, Relationship Manager, Only My Share

Agents are reporting having to spend hours on the phone explaining joint and several liability clauses to potential renters and their guarantors. Others have been forced to remove such clauses from tenancy agreements altogether.

Only My Share, which is part of the Housing Handfamily, has been working closely with agents to deliver a solution. The company’s rent arrears protection offering means that the tenant – and their guarantor – will not be liable for a housemate’s unpaid rent. It is a game-changer for many renters as it delivers peace of mind. For the agents seeking to house them, it means more contracts being signed and a faster process of doing so.

“We’re really happy to be working with Only My Share. We have been able to offer our student tenants and their guarantors an extra service which provides peace of mind.

“The service is especially helpful for tenants moving into HMO properties. Some tenants and their guarantors can be nervous about signing joint and several liability contracts due to the potential financial risks if another housemate defaults on their rental payments – and OMS is a brilliant solution to this problem.”

Ryan Hough, Head of Marketing, studenttenant.com

Only My Share’s partnership with studenttenant.com, the UK’s largest online student letting agent, is one of a number of arrangements that has opened up rental arrears protection to renters across the UK in the past few years. In the past year in particular, agents have noted an increasing number of guarantors who are keen to sign up for Only My Share’s service when signing the guarantor agreement.

“There are two key factors at play here. One is the wider economic picture that has resulted from the pandemic. Income insecurity is giving many people pause, whereas previously they would have just signed on the dotted line. But we are also working hard to raise awareness about joint liability. We’re working with universities and student unions in order to make students – and their guarantors – more aware of what it is that they are signing up to when they rent rooms in HMOs.”

Edmund Fulford, Relationship Manager, Only My Share

For more information please contact Housing Hand today on +44 (0) 204 579 5891 or visit https://www.housinghand.co.uk/

Only My Share seeks to reassure private renters

Only My Share seeks to reassure private renters

by Louise United Kingdom ,
  • 25% of tenants fear falling into rent arrears (Landlord Information Network)
  • Clarity lacking on eventual outcomes for renters struggling due to pandemic
  • Only My Share offering reassurance to renters in shared households 

It’s a troubling time for renters. While the UK’s major banks are working with the government to provide property owners who need it with a three-month mortgage break if required, plans for private renters (who account for one in five UK households) have unfolded far less rapidly and clearly. 

What the government has done is announce that “no renter in either social or private accommodation will be forced out of their home during this difficult time.” 

“While ensuring no evictions is a positive step, it does nothing to address the issue of tenants who find themselves unable to pay their rent and are thus building up rent arrears. Many people who are self-isolating or looking after children who would otherwise be in school or early years childcare settings, may suddenly find themselves unable to work and unable to earn. If they’re building up rent arrears, what will happen as soon as the eviction ban lifts? The government’s plan to leave landlords and tenants to ‘work together to establish an affordable repayment plan’ doesn’t sound very reassuring.”

Terry Mason, Group Operations Director, Only My Share 

Cases of tenants who are seriously behind on their rent were already rising, before the added complication of the global pandemic. The Landlord Information Network reports that over 25% of tenants fear they will fall into rent arrears. 

For those living in shared houses, the issue of rent arrears has been a thorny one for some time. ‘Joint and several’ tenancy agreements mean that all tenants are equally liable for each other’s obligations under the contract. This means that a tenant can be taken to court for their housemate’s rent arrears (once the courts begin processing such cases again).

Those who are concerned about being in such a situation are not without options. Rent arrears protection service Only My Share exists to deal with precisely these circumstances. Housemates and their guarantors can both enjoy protection of  up to £10,000 of fellow housemates’ arrears from just £99 per year; subject to their standard terms and conditions

“Many sharers don’t realise that they could be liable for thousands of pounds of rent arrears based on payments that were never theirs to make in the first place. With the current pandemic highlighting the precarious conditions that many renters face, services like Only My Share can provide a very welcome degree of reassurance.”

Terry Mason, Group Operations Director, Only My Share 

Only My Share is part of the Housing Hand group. Housing Hand provides a UK rent guarantor service, while Only My Share protects the guarantor… and the tenant. 

For more information please contact Only My Share today on +44 (0) 204 579 5891 or visit https://www.onlymyshare.com/ 

Pending A level results and rising room costs drive interest in Only My Share’s housemate rent arrears protection

Pending A level results and rising room costs drive interest in Only My Share’s housemate rent arrears protection

by Louise United Kingdom
  • 54% of all students rent their homes privately (Save the Student)
  • Over 500,000 HMOs in England alone (National HMO Network)
  • Room rents up 11% over past year (Ideal Flatmate)

With A level results due out in just a couple of days, the question of student accommodation is uppermost in many parents’ minds right now. 54% of all students rent their accommodation from private landlords and estate agents, according to Save the Student. Many of them live in Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs), of which there are more than half a million in England, based on National HMO Network figures.

For students and those who act as guarantors for them, renting a room in a shared home like this carries a particular risk: if one housemate doesn’t pay their rent, the others (and their guarantors) may end up liable for their share. That’s why rent arrears protection service Only My Share exists.

“There are countless cases of students and their guarantors having suddenly become liable for monies owed to HMO landlords as a result of other tenants not being able to pay their rent. Only My Share seeks to protect students and their guarantors from being in this situation so that they can have peace of mind and enjoy their university experience to the full.”

Terry Mason, Group Operations Director, Only My Share 

The problem of rent arrears is widespread. The National Landlords Association reports that 32% of landlords have suffered from rent areas, while court order eviction rates and rental default claims are rising. Meanwhile, the LIN reports that 25% of tenants fear that they will fall into rent arrears.

Against this worrying backdrop, Only My Share provides up to £10,000 of housemate rent arrears protection for just £99 per year. When tenancy agreements are ‘joint and several,’ all tenants are equally liable for each other’s obligations under the contract. However, if a housemate fails to pay their rent, Only My Share will stand as a guarantor in order to protect others from becoming liable for that housemate’s share.

With a simple, online application and payment process, which has been streamlined as part of the company’s new website, Only My Share makes it easy for students and their guarantors to enjoy far greater peace of mind.

“Issues around providing rent guarantors can be a real source of stress for students. With little to no credit history, many have to rely on their parents to act as guarantors. While many parents are happy to do so, they are less keen to sign up to potentially cover their child’s housemates’ rent as well – and with one in ten students dropping out in their first year, that risk is far from insignificant.”

Terry Mason, Group Operations Director, Only My Share 

The average yearly student rent is £6,792, according to 2018 figures from Save the Student, while Cushman & Wakefield report that private rental sector increases are outstripping those of university bed spaces, at 3.0% and 2.6% respectively from 2017/18 to 2018/19.

Only My Share is part of the Housing Hand group. Housing Hand provides a UK rent guarantor service, while Only My Share protects the guarantor… and the tenant.

“We discovered, through running Housing Hand, that there was a necessity for a separate service that worked with those at risk of paying another’s rent arrears. We created Only My Share in order to fill that gap, ensuring that as many students’  needs as possible are met through the Housing Hand group.”

Terry Mason, Group Operations Director, Only My Share 

Only My Share is also available to others who rent accommodation in HMOs, with a commission structure in place for letting agents that are keen to see their constituents benefit from the scheme. Outside of the student sector, room rates are also rising, with Ideal Flatmate reporting an increase of 11% over the past year. London’s rooms are the most expensive, at an average of £745 pcm, followed by Glasgow (£588 pcm) and then Bournemouth (£575 pcm). The organisation projects further rises over the remainder of 2019, with high demand and insufficient stock fuelling the increases.

For more information please contact Only My Share today on +44 (0) 204 579 5891  or visit https://www.onlymyshare.com/