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Whether a landlord can require this, nation by nation

Being asked to pay for something in place of a deposit, or to arrange a guarantor, raises one question before any other: can the landlord actually insist on this? The answer does not sit in one place. It turns on whether what you are facing is a requirement or a choice, and on which part of the UK the tenancy is in, because a deposit-replacement product and a guarantor service are both treated differently from nation to nation.

Required or offered as an alternative

There is a real difference between a landlord telling you that you must pay for a deposit-replacement product, and a landlord offering one as an alternative to paying a cash deposit upfront. The second is a choice you can decline in favour of the deposit route. The first removes that choice. Working out which of these you are actually facing changes what you can say back to the agent or landlord, and it is worth settling before you look at the legal position at all.

Either way, the fee you pay for a deposit-replacement product does not come back to you the way a deposit would. You remain liable for any damage or arrears at the end of the tenancy, and if the provider ends up paying the landlord on your behalf, you then become liable to repay the provider itself (Welsh Government guidance, read 30 September 2026). That is worth weighing before you treat the alternative as a like-for-like swap for a deposit.

The same distinction applies to a guarantor. Being asked to find one, whether that is a person who will stand behind your rent or a paid service doing the same job, is not automatically the same as being told you must buy a specific guarantor product from a specific provider.

Why the nation you rent in changes the answer

England, Wales and Scotland each set out separately what a landlord or agent can and cannot charge a tenant at the start of a tenancy, and a rule that holds in one nation does not carry over to the others. A request that is allowed in one nation can be unlawful in the next, so the only safe starting point is the legislation that applies where your tenancy actually sits. If you need to determine whether your situation is compulsory or optional, our detailed guide helps you check what your landlord can actually require.

The can my landlord make me buy this? tool on this site routes the question by nation and by the specific product you have been asked to take, and returns the statutory text itself, quoted with its section and the date it was read, along with a suggestion for what to say to the agent or landlord. It runs in your browser, so nothing you enter is submitted or stored. A tool reading from a document can return the wrong section, particularly once the underlying law has moved on since it was last checked, and it does not tell you whether your landlord's request is lawful in your case; it shows you the text and leaves the match to you to check.

Deposit-replacement products

How a deposit-replacement product works, step by step

A deposit-replacement product moves the deposit out of your account at move-in, but it doesn't move the risk that sits behind it. Here's what actually happens at each stage, from the fee you pay to the bill you could be left with afterwards.

  1. You pay a fee

    At move-in, you pay the provider a fee. The fee isn't refundable. You don't get it back at the end of the tenancy, even if the property is left exactly as you found it.

  2. You remain responsible for damage and arrears

    The fee doesn't cover anything you do during the tenancy. It buys the landlord a guarantee from the provider, not protection for you. If you damage a fixture or fall behind on rent, that cost is still yours, in exactly the way it would be under a cash deposit.

    Whether your landlord was even allowed to ask you to take one of these products in the first place is a separate question, and it depends on where you rent. The Can my landlord make me buy this? tool asks for your nation and the product you've been offered and shows you the relevant legal text, though it can still return the wrong answer for your situation.

  3. The landlord raises a claim at the end of the tenancy

    When the tenancy ends, the landlord checks the property and the rent account, much as they would with a cash deposit. What happens next depends on what they find.

    Nothing is owed

    No damage, no arrears. No claim is made, and the fee you paid at move-in stays with the provider.

    Damage or arrears are found

    The landlord puts in a claim to the provider for the cost.

  4. The provider pays the landlord

    Where a claim is upheld, the provider pays the landlord directly. This is how the landlord recovers the cost without a deposit having been held in the first place.

  5. The provider turns to you for repayment

    Once the provider has paid the landlord, it looks to you to repay what it paid out. You become liable to the provider for that amount, in the same way you would have lost a cash deposit, except the bill now comes from the provider rather than being withheld from money you'd already paid.

    This is the liability a deposit-replacement product doesn't remove. It moves who you owe, not whether you owe.

A deposit-replacement product changes who you pay and when. It doesn't change what you owe if something goes wrong.

How a professional guarantor service works

A guarantor is traditionally someone you know personally: a parent, a relative, or a friend with a steady income, who agrees in writing to cover your rent and any damage costs if you don't. A professional guarantor service takes that role instead, standing behind your tenancy in place of a named person you'd otherwise have to find.

What the fee buys

You pay the guarantor service a fee, usually set at the start of the tenancy, and in return it agrees with the landlord that it will cover unpaid rent and certain damage costs up to a limit set out in its own terms. For the landlord, that gives the same reassurance as a personal guarantor who has the means to pay if you don't. What it gives you is a way past a landlord's requirement for a guarantor when you don't have a friend or relative able or willing to take one on.

What happens if the guarantee is called on

The fee pays for the guarantee itself, not for your rent or for damage you cause. If you fall behind on rent, or the landlord makes a claim for damage, the guarantor service pays the landlord under its agreement, then looks to you to repay what it has paid out. The fee you paid at the start doesn't reduce or cancel that debt. It buys the guarantee, not an exemption from paying what you owe.

What it doesn't replace

A guarantor service doesn't insure you against anything, and it isn't the same product as tenant's liability cover or contents insurance, both of which pay out without expecting the money back afterwards. Whether a landlord can insist you use a paid guarantor service depends on which nation your tenancy is in. If you need to determine whether your situation is compulsory or optional, our detailed guide helps you check what your landlord can actually require. Use Can my landlord make me buy this? and choose guarantor service and how it was put to you, to see the text that applies to your situation.

Deposit, deposit-replacement and guarantor compared

These three routes solve the same problem for the landlord, getting money to cover damage or unpaid rent, but they put the risk in different places. Look at the two right-hand columns before deciding which matters more to you: what you get back, and who ends up owing what if something goes wrong. If you want to check whether your landlord can actually require one of these from you, the 'Can my landlord make me buy this?' tool sets out what the law says for your nation. It can still return the wrong answer, so check the quoted text it gives you against the source.

Option What you get back Who's liable at the end If there's a claim
Cash depositYou hand over a lump sum at move-in and it sits with a deposit protection scheme until you leave You keep it, minus any agreed deduction, when the tenancy ends You, through the usual deposit-return process You pay it again if you want a deposit next time
Deposit-replacement productYou pay a one-off fee, but you remain liable for damage and arrears underneath it Nothing comes back, the fee is non-refundable You repay the provider if it pays the landlord for damage or arrears The provider can pursue you for whatever it has paid out on your behalf
Guarantor serviceSomeone else guarantees your rent and damage costs to the landlord, and a fee is paid for arranging it Nothing comes back, the fee is non-refundable Your guarantor, for as long as the agreement says it does The landlord can pursue the guarantor directly for unpaid rent or damage

This sets out how each option typically works, not terms from any one provider's contract. Check the specific terms you're offered before signing, including the cap on what you could owe and the time limit for any claim against you.

Whether a landlord can require this, nation by nation

Being asked to pay for something in place of a deposit, or to arrange a guarantor, raises one question before any other: can the landlord actually insist on this? The answer does not sit in one place. It turns on whether what you are facing is a requirement or a choice, and on which part of the UK the tenancy is in, because a deposit-replacement product and a guarantor service are both treated differently from nation to nation. If you need to work out whether your own situation is compulsory or optional, a detailed guide walks through what your landlord can actually require.

Required or offered as an alternative

There is a real difference between a landlord telling you that you must pay for a deposit-replacement product, and a landlord offering one as an alternative to paying a cash deposit upfront. The second is a choice you can decline in favour of the deposit route. The first removes that choice. Working out which of these you are actually facing changes what you can say back to the agent or landlord, and it is worth settling before you look at the legal position at all.

The same distinction applies to a guarantor. Being asked to find one, whether that is a person who will stand behind your rent or a paid service doing the same job, is not automatically the same as being told you must buy a specific guarantor product from a specific provider.

Why the nation you rent in changes the answer

England, Wales and Scotland each set out separately what a landlord or agent can and cannot charge a tenant at the start of a tenancy, and a rule that holds in one nation does not carry over to the others. A request that is allowed in one nation can be unlawful in the next, so the only safe starting point is the legislation that applies where your tenancy actually sits.

  • England: the Tenant Fees Act 2019 s.1 states that a landlord must not require a contract of insurance or a service with a third party as a condition of the tenancy, and GOV.UK guidance notes that a tenant can choose to use a deposit-replacement product or guarantor service.
  • Wales: the Renting Homes (Fees etc.) (Wales) Act 2019 s.2 makes it an offence to require payment for a contract for services, but the text does not name insurance or deposit-replacement products specifically.
  • Scotland: the premium offence under the Rent (Scotland) Act 1984 does not mention insurance, deposit-replacement products or guarantor services at all.

Working out your own position

The tool on this site, Can my landlord make me buy this?, walks through this by asking where your tenancy is, in England, Wales or Scotland (Northern Ireland is not yet covered), and what you have been asked to take, whether that is a deposit-replacement product, a guarantor service or something else. It also asks how it was put to you, as a requirement or as an alternative to a cash deposit, because that is the distinction the earlier section turns on. It returns the wording of the relevant Act itself, quoted with its section and the date it was read, and it suggests what you might say to the agent or landlord. The match between that wording and your own situation is still yours to check, because the tool can give a wrong or incomplete answer for a particular case and what it gives you is not advice. It runs in your browser, does not ask for your name or any contact details, and nothing you enter is sent anywhere.