Q. I took a guarantee for my tenant last year. The tenant has now fallen into arrears and I want to claim this under the guarantee. However when I wrote to the guarantor they told me that the guarantee was invalid now as the rent was increased two months ago when the tenancy was renewed and they were not told about it.  

It that right? Their guarantee deed says it will last as long as the tenant is living in the property.

A. I am afraid the guarantor is correct. The guarantor can only be liable for things which they know about and have approved. This is why (if the guarantee is a separate document and not included in the tenancy agreement) you must provide a copy of the tenancy agreement to the guarantor before they sign.  

If you increase the rent, say from £700pm to £800pm the guarantor cannot be liable for this as they have only agreed to guarantee the tenant on the basis of a tenancy at £700pm. So the guarantee will end automatically at that time and you will need to sign them up again with a new guarantee deed.