Sample letter to stand surety for a tenant

Often, to protect themselves against unpaid rent, landlords ask for a guarantor. So, if you want to rent accommodation, you will have to find someone willing to stand surety. Generally, this is the parents, but this is not mandatory. Indeed, there are other solutions to find a guarantor (bank guarantee, public bodies, specialized companies). Also discover the obligations of a guarantor as well as a model letter to stand surety for a tenant.

Summary

Free sample letter form to vouch for a tenant

Last name and first name

Full address

Recipient’s name,
Full address

Subject: deed of guarantee

I, the undersigned, Mrs./Mr. (surname, first name), born on (date of birth) at (place of birth), residing at (address), declare that I stand surety for Mrs./Mr. (surname and first name of the lessee) residing at (lessee’s address).

This commitment applies to the lease contract concluded on (date of contract) with Mrs./Mr. (name of owner) of the accommodation located at (address).

I have received a copy of the lease contract and declare that I have read the clauses and conditions stipulated therein. In addition, my commitment relates to the guarantee of payment of rents, charges, rental repairs, taxes, duties and any procedural costs that may be due under this rental agreement.

(The following parts must be handwritten)

Voucher for joint surety (in the event that the surety is joint and several) for the payment of rent, the monthly amount of which is equal to [le montant du loyer doit être indiqué en chiffres et en lettres] euros and its annual revision, the calculation of which is based on the variation of the average over four quarters of the national construction cost index published by INSEE, plus all interest, costs and incidentals.

I declare that I have knowledge of the nature and extent of my commitment.

I acknowledge, moreover, that I know the terms of article 22-1 paragraph 1 of the law of July 6, 1989 reproduced below:

“When the suretyship of obligations resulting from a rental contract entered into pursuant to this title does not include any indication of duration or when the duration of the suretyship is stipulated indefinite, the surety may terminate it unilaterally. The termination takes effect at the end of the rental contract, whether it is the initial contract or a renewed or renewed contract, during which the lessor receives notification of the termination. »

Last name First Name

Signature

To vouch for a rental: the conditions for doing so

To act as guarantor or surety for a tenant, it is mandatory to be solvent, that is to say to receive sufficient income to take on this responsibility.

In addition to solvency, there are two types of guarantors:

the natural person (family member, friend, third party);
the legal person (company, association, bank).

What does the guarantor or surety commit to?

Most of the time, the lessor asks for a guarantor or surety when you want to rent accommodation. This is a guarantee in the event of unpaid rent.

Consequently, the guarantor, also called surety, undertakes to pay the rent of the tenant as well as the charges if the latter is unable to meet his obligations.

On the other hand, the guarantor agrees on the guaranteed amount, that is to say the ceiling not to be exceeded, as well as on the duration of the guarantee. The latter can be determined.

Then, there are two types of surety:

the simple deposit which obliges the owner to pursue the tenant in priority. If the latter is not solvent, the lessor will turn to the guarantor to settle the debts of the tenant;
the joint surety where the guarantor is required to settle the debts in the same way as the tenant. The owner can therefore contact one or the other to claim the amount due. In return, the guarantor has the possibility of turning against the tenant by claiming the amount paid.

Vouch for : the necessary documents

A landlord must limit himself to claiming the following documents to remain in compliance with the law:

an identity document (national identity card, passport, driving licence);
if the guarantor is a legal person, he may be asked for a Kbis extract as well as the identity card of the company;
proof of address (water, electricity, gas bill, rent receipt, property or housing tax, housing insurance certificate);
one or more proof of professional activity to prove the solvency of the guarantor (employment contract, copy of the professional card, Kbis extract, copy of the INSEE identification certificate, employer’s certificate, D1 extract);
proof of resources and financial income (last tax notice, last three pay slips, title of ownership of real estate, last two balance sheets, retirement, pensions, life annuities, income from real estate capital, etc.).

Obligations of the guarantor: What the law says ?

First, you should know that the rental guarantee is governed by an article of law (article 22-1 of law n ° 89-462 of July 6, 1989). This article imposes rules of formalism to be respected when a person acts as guarantor for a tenant. Certain information must be included in the surety bond.

The commitment therefore takes the form of a written act. This can be an authentic deed (at a notary) or a simple private deed. Note that the deed of suretyship can also be directly integrated into the lease. In this case, the owner gives a copy of the surety bond to the surety.

The surety bond must mention:

the amount of debts (in figures and in words) that the guarantor agrees to guarantee, provided that this sum has already been assessed;
what the guarantor agrees to explicitly and unequivocally (eg rental repairs, occupancy compensation in the event of eviction, etc.);
the penultimate paragraph of article 22-1 of the law of July 6, 1989, written by hand: “When the suretyship of obligations resulting from a rental contract entered into pursuant to this title does not include any indication of duration or when the duration of the suretyship is stipulated indefinite, the surety may terminate it unilaterally. The termination takes effect at the end of the rental contract, whether it is the initial contract or a renewed or renewed contract, during which the lessor receives notification of the termination. ;
if the lessor of the empty or furnished rental is a professional, the guarantor must precede his signature with the following handwritten note: “By waiving the benefit of discussion defined in article 2298 of the civil code and by obliging myself jointly and severally with X, I undertake to reimburse the creditor without being able to demand that he sue X beforehand”.

To know : since the Elan law 2018, the handwritten mention of the guarantee document is no longer part of the obligation for the document to be legally valid. This rule only applies to bonds issued after November 25, 2018.

Organizations that can act as guarantor

If in your entourage (family member or friend), no one can stand surety, you can turn to an organization.

Action Logement guarantees

The Visale guarantee is a free surety solution offered by Action Logement, a public body. The guarantee is aimed at young people under 31 and employees in the private or agricultural sector at the start of their contract. Retired people are excluded from the scheme. Foreign tenants can claim it provided they present a valid residence permit. Note that the Visale guarantee is reserved only for accommodation in the private sector.

On the other hand, Action Logement finances another surety solution, also free of charge. This is Loca-Pass which concerns social housing. To be eligible, you must be employed in the private sector or be under 30 looking for work.

Surety services of private companies

Also be aware that private companies offer bonding services. On the market, there is Garantme, Youse, Wemind. Please note, these are paid services, generally between 3 to 4% of the rent.

The bank guarantee

Finally, note that the bank guarantee represents a solution of last resort. Quite rare and restrictive, it consists of blocking a large sum of money in an account (one to two years’ rent). This money will be returned to the lessor in the event of non-payment. And if you don’t want to go through a bank, companies like Smartloc also offer this service (for a fee, of course).

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