My roomate wants me to be his guarantor... should I sign?

[Jules75]

Hello

my roomate has the lease of the flat under his name (I pay him cash); he's about to renew it but this time he says (or the landlord said, I don't know) I have to be mentioned in the lease and as an "additional guarantor personal" with a whole "GUARANTY" paragraph at the end of the lease...

Is it risky to sign? My roomate says I will be his "co-guarantor" and it's not a big deal... What do you think?

Thanks

[TenantNet]

You would be the guarantor with no rights of tenancy, still a roommate. Why not be added to the lease as a co-tenant? You would have full rights of tenancy (and all the responsibilities).

If you stay a roommate and become a guarantor, make sure it's only so long as you stay a resident.

[Jules75]

I don't think I can be a guarantor "as long as I am a roomate", as the contract says I am a guarantor for the length of the lease....

If I were to be added as a co-tenant, I would no longer be the guarantor right? You can't be both?

[ronin]

That is true.

You can't be a co-tenant and a guarantor at the same time. However, you would be nuts to sign as a guarantor on your roommate's lease.

Imagine this scenario. Roommate gets new girlfriend. Decides you have to leave (and can enforce it). You get kicked out in the cold. Two years later the happy couple leaves to live in Canada and you find your bank account frozen by the LL trying to get paid 2 years back rent.

How about this one. Twelve years after you leave the apartment you find your bank account frozen by the landlord looking for payment for back rent run up by your roommate's new roommate who took over the apartment after your old roommate left. But didn't bother to pay rent.

I could go on for days. Bad. Bad. Bad. Idea....