Section 16P — Housing Act 1988: Section 16N: application and interpretation

Section 16N: application and interpretation 16P 1 Section 16N applies to a guarantee—

a whether or not it is in writing;

b if it is in writing, whether or not it is in the lease;

c whether or not it also guarantees the payment of any sum other than the rent.

2 In section 16N and this section— “ commencement date ” has the meaning given by section 146(3) of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025; “ family member ” is to be read in accordance with subsections (3) and (4); “ rent period ” means a period for which rent is payable.

3 For the purposes of section 16N, the guarantor is a family member of the following persons—

a the spouse, civil partner or co-habitee of the guarantor;

b a person who is—

i a child, ii a grandchild, iii a parent, iv a grandparent, v a sibling, vi a niece or nephew, vii an aunt or uncle, or viii a cousin, of the guarantor or of the spouse, civil partner or co-habitee of the guarantor;

c a person who is the spouse, civil partner or co-habitee of a person falling within paragraph (b).

4 If, in accordance with subsection (3), a person (F)—

a is a family member of the guarantor when the guarantee is entered into, or b becomes a family member of the guarantor after the guarantee is entered into, F is to be regarded as being a family member of the guarantor at all times afterwards (regardless of whether F continues to be so in accordance with subsection (3)).

5 For the purposes of this section—

a one person (C) is the “co-habitee” of another person (P) if P lives with C as if they were married or in a civil partnership;

b a “niece or nephew” of a person (P) is a child—

i of a sibling of P, or ii of a person who is the spouse, civil partner or co-habitee of a sibling of P;

c an “aunt or uncle” of a person (P) is a sibling of a parent of P;

d a “cousin” of a person (P) is a child—

i of an aunt or uncle of P, or ii of a person who is the spouse, civil partner or co-habitee of an aunt or uncle of P;

e “ sibling ” includes a sibling of the half-blood and a step-sibling.