My daughter has found a flat to share with four of her friends next year at university (Glasgow/Scotland). As parents we are being asked to sign a legal document to act as gurantor for her (OK, that bit’s fine), but also stating that we are ‘Jointly and severally liable’ for all rents/damages. In other words, if a flamate fails to pay the rent or leaves the flat within the year’s tenancy, we have to stump up!

This seems a bit harsh. Is it normal? Is it even legal? Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated.

Please note: this is UK only

Yes this happened to me when our flatmate stopped paying rent we were asked to pay their share, it is quite normal. However we requested our landlord pursue their individual guarantor first before asking us to stump up and it paid off in the end! There are always going to be risks when young people move in together for what is usually the first time but it normally works out and in the end you just have to trust that everyone is going to do their bit.