Deed of Guarantee 2026: Guarantor Rules & Free Template

A guarantor is often what makes a borderline application work: a student, a first-time renter or someone with a thin credit file, backed by a parent who will cover the rent if it is not paid. But a guarantee is only worth anything if it is drafted so it actually binds, and the Renters’ Rights Act changed several of the rules that decide whether it does.

This guide covers why a guarantee usually has to be a deed, the new rule that ends a guarantor’s liability when the tenant dies, the fixed-term wording that quietly voids a guarantee now that tenancies are periodic, what a guarantor is and is not liable for, and a free template to work from.

This is guidance, not legal advice. Get a guarantee deed checked by a solicitor before you rely on it.

Why it usually has to be a deed

A guarantee is a promise to answer for someone else’s debt, and the law treats those carefully. Two things matter:

• It must be in writing and signed by the guarantor. Section 4 of the Statute of Frauds 1677 makes an unwritten guarantee unenforceable: a verbal "of course I’ll cover the rent" is worth nothing.
• It usually has to be a deed. A normal contract needs "consideration" (something given in return). A guarantor typically gets nothing in return for their promise, so to be safe the guarantee is executed as a deed, which does not need consideration. A deed has to be signed, witnessed, and delivered to be valid.

Get the execution wrong (no witness, or signed after the tenant already moved in without being a deed) and you may find the guarantee cannot be enforced when you need it.

A deed binds the guarantor; it does not make them able to pay. From £7.99 a month, LetCompliance orders a guarantor reference in the app for £19.99, alongside the tenant’s full reference at £24.99, and keeps the signed deed with the property’s documents. Get started

The Renters’ Rights Act change everyone misses: death

Here is the new rule that catches landlords out. For a guarantee entered into on or after 1 May 2026, if the tenant dies, the guarantor is no longer liable for rent for the period from the death. Section 16N of the Housing Act 1988 (inserted by the Renters’ Rights Act 2025) puts it plainly: the guarantee "is of no effect if, or to the extent that, it guarantees payment of guaranteed rent for the period beginning with the death of that person."

So a parent who guaranteed their child’s tenancy is released from the rent if that child dies. You cannot pursue them for rent that falls due afterwards. For joint tenancies it is more nuanced: the release turns on whether the guarantor was related to the tenant who died, and whether the other joint tenants are still alive. The practical point is simple: for a guarantee made on or after 1 May 2026, do not assume it covers rent after a tenant’s death, because for a sole tenant it does not. A guarantee made before that date is not affected by the release.

The fixed-term trap that voids old wording

This is the drafting mistake that matters most in 2026. Plenty of guarantee deeds say the guarantor covers the tenant’s obligations "during the initial fixed term". That wording was fine when tenancies had fixed terms. They do not any more: since 1 May 2026 every assured tenancy is periodic from the start and simply rolls on.

A deed tied to a fixed term that no longer exists can leave you with a guarantee that does not clearly cover the ongoing periodic tenancy at all. A guarantee written for the post-Act world needs to expressly cover the tenant’s obligations for as long as the periodic tenancy continues in any form, not just an initial period. If your template still talks about a fixed term, it is out of date.

What a guarantor is, and is not, liable for

A guarantor stands behind the tenant’s obligations, typically the rent and the cost of damage beyond fair wear and tear. Two limits worth knowing:

• Only rent that is lawfully due. A guarantor answers for the rent the tenant actually owes. If you raise the rent, an increase that did not follow the correct Section 13 process is not lawfully due, so it is not something you could pursue a guarantor for either. Get the rent increase right and the guarantee follows it; get it wrong and neither the tenant nor the guarantor owes the extra.
• Not a way around the rules. A guarantor is a permitted part of a tenancy, but it does not let you sidestep the deposit cap or take banned upfront payments. It sits alongside referencing, not instead of the rules.

Free deed of guarantee template

Use this as a starting point, and have it checked. It must be executed as a deed: signed by the guarantor in front of a witness who also signs.

Deed of Guarantee

This deed is made on [date] between:

(1) [Guarantor name] of [address] ("the Guarantor"); and

(2) [Landlord name] of [address] ("the Landlord").

1. In consideration of the Landlord granting a tenancy of [property address] to [Tenant name] ("the Tenant"), the Guarantor guarantees to the Landlord the payment of all rent lawfully due and the performance of all the Tenant’s obligations under the tenancy.

2. This guarantee covers the tenancy for as long as it continues, including after it becomes or continues as a periodic tenancy, and any lawful variation of the rent.

3. The Guarantor’s liability for rent ends in the circumstances set out in the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, including on the death of the Tenant.

Executed as a deed by [Guarantor name]:

Signature: __________ Date: ______

In the presence of (witness): Name / Signature / Address

Signed by [Landlord name]: __________ Date: ______

Fill the brackets, keep clause 2 (the periodic-tenancy wording) and clause 3 (the death release), and do not use a template that still limits the guarantee to a fixed term.

How LetCompliance helps

A guarantee is only as good as the referencing and records behind it, and LetCompliance handles the parts around the deed:

• Reference the guarantor, not just the tenant. A guarantor who cannot afford the rent themselves is decoration, so run them through the same regulated credit and affordability check as the tenant.
• The tenancy it attaches to: a periodic tenancy agreement, signed online, so the guarantee covers the right kind of tenancy.
• The rent ledger that shows exactly what is lawfully due, which is what any claim against a guarantor stands or falls on. Arrears chasing runs from it once you switch it on.

One property is free, no card needed.

Sources

• legislation.gov.uk: Housing Act 1988, section 16N (guarantor not liable for rent after tenant’s death), inserted by the Renters’ Rights Act 2025
• legislation.gov.uk: Statute of Frauds 1677
• Shelter: Guarantors for tenancy agreements