Contrary to the term used in everyday language to designate the security deposit, in other words the sum of money paid for the tenant as security for possible damage to the accommodation, the surety is the person who stands surety for the tenant in the event of non -payment of rents in particular.
The caution : its commitment and its obligations
Any adult trusted person of the tenant, usually a family member or a close friend, can stand surety for the tenant. However, it is also possible to call on your bank or even your employer to fulfill this role. The acceptance or refusal of the tenant’s deposit is then at the owner’s discretion.
If the commitment is made by a simple signature on a surety bond, standing surety is not a trivial act. Indeed, it is to this person that the owner will turn in the event of non-payment of one or more rents but also in the event of deterioration of the rental requiring the carrying out of substantial work.
The consequences of the tenant’s failure to pay his deposit
In the event of rental debts (rehabilitation work on the accommodation or unpaid rent), the owner will request reimbursement from the tenant’s surety. He can then request the seizure of his property, his income or even his home if he owns it.
The two types of surety
There are two types of deposit that will define the recovery procedure that the owner could engage in the event of unpaid debts. In the case of a simple deposit, the landlord will first turn to the tenant to check whether he has the possibility of repaying the debts. Only if he is insolvent, the guarantor will have to pay the sum to be reimbursed.
Conversely, if you have signed a joint surety contract, it is the tenant’s surety who undertakes to pay the unpaid rents and charges, without going through the tenant. Unfortunately for the surety of a deadbeat tenant, it is this type of suretyship contract that is most often signed.
The only consolation that the surety can have is that all these goods cannot be withdrawn from him: he will still be left with the equivalent of a minimum wage.
Before committing to become surety for a tenant, it is therefore necessary to take the full extent of this commitment and the possible consequences that may result from it.
