Section 16N — Housing Act 1988: Guarantor not liable for rent payable after tenant’s death

Guarantor not liable for rent payable after tenant’s death 16N 1 This section applies where—

a an individual (the “guarantor”) is a party to an arrangement (the “guarantee”) under which the individual guarantees payment by the tenant of rent under an assured tenancy (“guaranteed rent”),

and b the guarantor became a party to the guarantee on or after the commencement date.

2 If—

a only one person is the tenant under the assured tenancy, and b that person dies, the guarantee is of no effect if, or to the extent that, it guarantees payment of guaranteed rent for the period beginning with the death of that person.

3 If—

a two or more persons are the tenant under the assured tenancy, and b all of those persons die, the guarantee is of no effect if, or to the extent that, it guarantees payment of guaranteed rent for the period beginning with the deaths of those persons (if they all die on the same day) or beginning with the death of the last of those persons to die (if they do not all die on the same day).

4 If—

a two or more persons are the tenant under the assured tenancy, b the guarantor is a family member of only one of those persons, and c that family member of the guarantor dies, the guarantee is of no effect if, or to the extent that, it guarantees payment of guaranteed rent for the period beginning with the death of that family member.

5 If—

a two or more persons are the tenant under the assured tenancy, b the guarantor is a family member of more than one of those persons, and c all of those family members of the guarantor die, the guarantee is of no effect if, or to the extent that, it guarantees payment of guaranteed rent for the period beginning with the deaths of those family members (if they all die on the same day) or beginning with the death of the last of those family members to die (if they do not all die on the same day).

6 For the purposes of this section, the guaranteed rent for the period beginning with the death of a person, or with the deaths of two or more persons, is—

a guaranteed rent which—

i is for the rent period during which the person dies or persons die (the “relevant rent period”),

and ii is attributable to the time after the death of the person or persons, and b guaranteed rent for every rent period after the relevant rent period.

7 For that purpose, the guaranteed rent for the relevant rent period which is attributable to the time after the death of the person or persons is the amount calculated in accordance with this formula— D T × R where— D is the total number of days in the relevant rent period which fall on and after the day of the death of the person or persons; T is the total number of days in the relevant rent period; R is the guaranteed rent for the relevant rent period.