Updated government guidance has warned that professional rent guarantor agreements entered into before 1 May 2026 may need to be reviewed after the Renters’ Rights Act changed the rules around permitted and prohibited tenancy payments.
The fresh wording matters because it raises a live compliance question for landlords and agents already using guarantor products. Ministers now say older agreements may be affected by the tenancy reforms and may need variations agreed with the landlord.
For landlords and investors, this is not just a technical point. Guarantor products have become more important as affordability checks tighten and more tenants need support to pass referencing, so any uncertainty over older agreements could create avoidable disputes if paperwork has not been checked.
Tenant choice is now central to guarantor compliance
The updated position says tenants can choose a professional rental guarantor service, but that payment becomes prohibited if they are required to take out a specific product without a free choice of provider. Government guidance also says agreements entered into before 1 May 2026 may be affected and that parties may want independent legal advice where the position is unclear.
That is the immediate shift landlords need to understand. The risk is no longer just whether a guarantor service exists, but whether the tenant was steered into one provider in a way that now cuts across the post-Renters’ Rights Act rules.
This follows Residential Landlord’s earlier coverage of landlords being told to review old guarantor agreements, which focused on the first compliance warning after the Act took effect. The latest guidance sharpens that issue by explicitly raising questions over whether older professional guarantor arrangements now need changes.
It also builds on Residential Landlord’s reporting on the post-May compliance regime, where paperwork and process have become just as important as the tenancy decision itself.
Landlords should check contracts before the next tenancy dispute does it for them
The practical point is simple. Landlords using rent guarantor services should not assume a provider’s standard wording is still enough if the agreement was set up before the 1 May switch. Agents should also be careful about offering only one preferred guarantor route where a tenant wants to use an alternative provider.
None of this means every older agreement has failed. But it does mean the safer approach is to review the contract trail now rather than wait for a challenge over prohibited payments, enforceability or consent to changes. In a market where guarantor use is growing, that admin check is now part of basic risk control.
The government’s guidance sits within its Tenant Fees Act 2019 guidance.
Opinion
This is the sort of compliance change that gets ignored until a deal goes wrong. Landlords do not need a panic response, but they do need a paperwork audit. If ministers are going to reshape how guarantor products can be used, they should also stop relying on vague wording that leaves the clean-up to landlords and agents.
