Can I be forced to get a guarantor now after 7 years of full payments?
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Can I be forced to get a guarantor now after 7 years of full payments?
7 years ago I had to get a guarantor for my 1-year rental lease; I shared it with 3 others. In the past years, the company lost track of payments and apparently a balance was owed (as I was told about it 3 years ago). They can’t track down why money is owed or who failed to make payments (even though I can prove I’ve made every payment). Since I’m the only one still left in the apartment from 7 years ago and roommates have moved in and out. They want me to pay for that balance. I only got a guarantor for that one year and now they’re asking for a new guarantor for the renewal this lease.
Asked on October 20, 2011 under Real Estate Law, Massachusetts
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
If you have a written agreement concerning your lease you need to carefully read it in that its terms and conditions control the obligations owed to you by the landlord and vice versa in the absence of conflicting state law. If your lease has an automatic renewal period, carefully read it in that its terms will dictate whether or not you must have a new guarantor under the lease or not for any new term.
If you are presently on a month-to-month lease, the landlord can demand a new guarantor as a condition for your renewal. If you are not on a month-to-month lease, but the term of the lease is coming to an end under any automatic renewal, the landlord can require as a condition for any renewal a guarantor for the lease for you to remain in your unit in the future.
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