Housing Hand guarantor: what it costs, who qualifies and how the co-signer works
Short answer: Housing Hand charges by rent band. As published on 12 September 2026, a student paying £1,701–£1,900 a month pays £176 a month for twelve months or £2,006 upfront; a working professional in the same band pays £240 a month or £2,736 upfront. Every applicant pays a £20 onboarding fee, needs a co-signer, and keeps paying for twelve months even on a shorter tenancy.
Housing Hand describes itself as the UK's largest rent guarantor service, and after Zero Deposit's Guarantor+ it is the provider readers of this site search for most, usually an international student or a newly arrived professional who has found a flat and been told they need a UK guarantor they do not have. This article sets out the product as Housing Hand describes it on its own site, checked on 12 September 2026, so you can see the full cost and the full commitment before you apply. Prices change; check the live price guide before you commit.
What does Housing Hand cost?
The fee depends on two things: your share of the monthly rent, and whether you are a student or a working professional. Housing Hand publishes a band table in its help centre. These are the bands London tenants most often fall into.
| Your share of the monthly rent | Student: monthly × 12 | Student: upfront | Professional: monthly × 12 | Professional: upfront |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £751 – £1,000 | £98 (£1,176) | £1,116 | £133 (£1,596) | £1,518 |
| £1,001 – £1,300 | £117 (£1,404) | £1,329 | £160 (£1,920) | £1,819 |
| £1,301 – £1,500 | £138 (£1,656) | £1,568 | £187 (£2,244) | £2,134 |
| £1,501 – £1,700 | £156 (£1,872) | £1,781 | £212 (£2,544) | £2,421 |
| £1,701 – £1,900 | £176 (£2,112) | £2,006 | £240 (£2,880) | £2,736 |
| £1,901 – £2,100 | £195 (£2,340) | £2,220 | £266 (£3,192) | £3,037 |
| £2,101 – £2,300 | £215 (£2,580) | £2,445 | £293 (£3,516) | £3,338 |
| £2,301 – £2,500 | £233 (£2,796) | £2,658 | £319 (£3,828) | £3,639 |
The lowest band, £250–£350 a month, starts at £40 a month for students, which is the "from £40 a month" figure on the homepage. The bracketed totals are our arithmetic (twelve monthly payments); the upfront figures are Housing Hand's own discounted sums. Put against the rent, a student in the £1,701–£1,900 band is paying roughly 9–10% of a year's rent for the guarantee and a professional roughly 12–14%, depending where in the band the rent sits. Housing Hand adds that applicants who come through a partner or affiliate link may see different prices, which is how the University of London Housing Services partner rate in our guarantor cost comparison arises.
What else do you pay?
- A £20 onboarding fee, charged when you create the application. It pays for the ID checks on you and your co-signer and is non-refundable unless Housing Hand cannot work with your accommodation provider.
- A £20 renewal fee if you renew for a further year, and the renewal itself is priced as a new application on the same band table.
- Twelve payments, whatever the tenancy length. Housing Hand's own words: "even if your tenancy is 8 months, you will still make 12 monthly payments." On a periodic tenancy the subscription runs to your notice date plus two months. If you leave early and are not formally released by your landlord, you keep paying until you have completed either six or twelve payments, depending on the original tenancy length.
Who qualifies?
Housing Hand says it accepts 98% of applicants. The conditions are that you are over 18 and either a full-time student or earning at least 2.0 times your share of the monthly rent, measured on take-home pay. It does not run credit checks, accepts applicants with a County Court Judgment, and counts Universal Credit, PIP, Child Benefit and pension income towards affordability. Students supply photo ID and proof of study dated within the past year; professionals supply payslips, bank statements or a signed employment contract. Applicants relocating from overseas, in a job for under three months, self-employed, or on a Skilled Worker or Graduate visa are all listed as accepted.
What does the co-signer actually sign up to?
This is the part most applicants skim, and it matters more than the price. Housing Hand requires a co-signer: a second person who signs the Housing Hand contract, acts as a secondary point of contact, and is jointly liable to repay Housing Hand for any rent it pays out on your behalf. The co-signer can live anywhere in the world, must have an income of some kind, and is not credit-checked. They cannot be a student, under 18, without an income, living at the same address as you, or already a co-signer for someone else in the same property. On a joint and several tenancy, you and your co-signer may also be asked to repay rent that Housing Hand covered for a housemate.
So for the parent in Shanghai or Lagos who becomes the co-signer, the guarantee has not removed their exposure; it has changed who they owe it to. Housing Hand stands as the guarantor your landlord sees. Behind that, the tenant and the co-signer still carry the debt.
What happens if rent is missed?
The landlord or agent invoices Housing Hand for the default, within 30 days of the missed payment. Housing Hand pays valid claims within 28 to 35 days of validating them, and says its guarantee covers all tenant liabilities under the tenancy agreement. It then contacts the tenant, and the co-signer if needed, to agree a repayment plan for the full amount, with late-payment fees possible and a warning that missed repayments can affect your credit rating. Two limits to know: Housing Hand does not usually cover the first month's rent, because it falls due before the coverage period starts, and each tenant in a group needs their own application.
What if you change your mind?
Cancellation is requested through the dashboard. If your landlord rejected you or would not let you move in, no administration fee is charged. In other cases Housing Hand may charge one, and for a completed application it wants written confirmation from the accommodation provider that you are not moving in, that Housing Hand is no longer the guarantor, and the date that changed. Refunds of the service fee are reviewed case by case; the onboarding and renewal fees are not refunded. Approved refunds are processed within about 14 days.
Is Housing Hand the right route?
For a tenant with no UK homeowner guarantor, Housing Hand is a functioning way to satisfy a landlord's referencing, and we accept it on our lettings. Two honest observations. First, price the whole year, not the monthly figure: twelve payments plus the onboarding fee, and compare it with the other providers in our guarantor cost comparison, which now includes UK Guarantor as a Housing Hand company. Second, read the co-signer terms with the person who will sign them, because that person is the one carrying the risk. If your university runs its own guarantor scheme, check that first: UCL's charges a £50 fee, and LSE's arrangements are on their own page. And if you are renting through us, ask before you pay for anything: a tenancy with us starts with a conversation about what referencing actually requires, not with a fee. We won't send an applicant to buy a product they do not need.
Sources
- Housing Hand, Our price guide: https://housinghand.com/help-and-advice/our-price-guide
- Housing Hand, How much will it cost me? (subscription terms): https://housinghand.com/help-and-advice/how-much-will-it-cost-me
- Housing Hand, How do I pay? (onboarding fee): https://housinghand.com/help-and-advice/how-do-i-pay
- Housing Hand, How much does it cost to renew my guarantor agreement?: https://housinghand.com/help-and-advice/how-much-does-it-cost-to-renew-my-guarantor-agreement
- Housing Hand, What is a co-signer?: https://housinghand.com/help-and-advice/what-is-a-co-signer
- Housing Hand, Who cannot be a co-signer?: https://housinghand.com/help-and-advice/who-cannot-be-a-co-signer
- Housing Hand, Will I be eligible as a student?: https://housinghand.com/help-and-advice/will-i-be-eligible-as-a-student
- Housing Hand, What happens with missed rent payments?: https://housinghand.com/help-and-advice/what-happens-with-missed-rent-payments
- Housing Hand, What happens if a tenant defaults on their tenancy agreement?: https://housinghand.com/help-and-advice/what-happens-if-a-tenant-defaults-on-their-tenancy-agreement
- Housing Hand, What is your refund policy?: https://housinghand.com/help-and-advice/what-is-your-refund-policy
- Housing Hand, What happens if I move out and end my tenancy agreement early?: https://housinghand.com/help-and-advice/what-happens-if-i-move-out-and-end-my-tenancy-agreement-early
- Housing Hand, For students / For professionals: https://housinghand.com/who-we-support/students · https://housinghand.com/who-we-support/professionals
- UK Guarantor (a Housing Hand company): https://ukguarantor.com/
All figures checked on 12 September 2026 against the pages above. Our own disclosure on referral arrangements is on the guarantor services page: the one pathway we have built is Goodlord's Guarantor product, and we do not require anyone to use it.
Renting in London without a UK guarantor? Start with our guarantor services page, or ask James on the site chat before you pay for anything.