For many students, the stress of finding stable housing can overshadow their entire university experience. The rent guarantor barrier is one of the clearest examples of how housing systems can exclude the very people universities say they want to support. A guarantor requirement may look like a standard rental safeguard, but for students without family support, it can become an instant block to accessing safe accommodation, creating delay, stress, and, in some cases, homelessness.

A rent guarantor requirement assumes that every student has a financially secure adult who can step in and underwrite a tenancy. For many students, that assumption simply does not hold. Care-experienced and estranged students may not have a parent, guardian, or trusted family member who can act in that role, and even when someone is willing, they may not meet a landlord’s financial criteria. That means a system designed around the average student quietly excludes the students who most need stability.

From a systems perspective, the problem is not just the guarantor form itself. It is the way housing processes are built around family-backed security rather than student reality. When a student cannot secure accommodation because they cannot provide a guarantor, they are pushed into a cycle of delay and risk. They may have to keep searching for private landlords, pay more for worse housing, accept insecure arrangements, or rely on short-term fixes that do not support long-term study. The barrier is administrative, but the impact is deeply practical, ultimately jeopardising students’ ability to continue their education and complete their degrees.

This issue matters because housing is not separate from education. If a student is spending weeks trying to solve a guarantor problem, that is time and energy taken away from starting university well, settling in, and engaging with academic life. If they are forced to move farther away because a property is available without a guarantor requirement, they may face longer commutes, higher transport costs, and fewer opportunities to participate fully in university. If they have to disclose their personal circumstances repeatedly to access support, the emotional burden grows as well. A system that makes housing access uncertain makes it harder to sustain education.

The consequences of keeping the guarantor barrier in place are wider than individual inconvenience. Students who cannot access suitable accommodation early may miss deadlines, turn down places, or arrive at university already behind. Others may take on unsafe financial risk, sign contracts they do not fully understand, or move into unsuitable housing because they are running out of options. Over time, this can affect retention, well-being, attainment, and belonging. In other words, a guarantor policy is not just an accommodation issue; it is an access and success issue.

Meaningful support starts with universities and housing providers recognising that this is a structural barrier, not an edge case. One part of the solution is to remove guarantor requirements where possible, especially in university-managed housing. Where that is not immediately possible, institutions should offer a clear and automatic alternative, not a confusing case-by-case process. This means providing options such as a university-backed guarantor scheme, a rent assurance fund, or a deposit structure that does not rely on family support. The key is that it must be easy to understand, quick to access, and consistently available, ensuring all students feel supported and secure in their housing choices. By implementing these measures, we can create an inclusive environment that fosters the success of students who are experiencing and estranged.

Just as importantly, students should not have to discover these options through chance, crisis, or informal advice from peers. Information needs to be visible from the point of offer, and staff across admissions, accommodation, student support, and widening participation need to know what to do. A student should never lose out on housing because one part of the institution does not know what another part is offering. Joined-up systems prevent students from falling through the gaps. For care-experienced and estranged students, stable accommodation can be the difference between pursuing their dreams and feeling forced to drop out of university, as I learned firsthand, like other care-experienced and estranged students, when I struggled to find housing between terms, eventually becoming homeless and nearly having to drop out due to commuting over three hours from Aberdeen due to a lack of housing support. 

Removing the rent guarantor barrier is ultimately about levelling the playing field and fairness. It is about designing housing processes around the reality of students’ lives rather than the assumptions of landlords or institutions. Care-experienced and estranged students should not need family wealth or family involvement to access a safe place to live.

We need a system that understands that independence is not the same as supportlessness.

Access to housing and the opportunity to pursue a degree that matches the aspirations of care-experienced and estranged students should be based on need, not family circumstances.

The solution is straightforward; with the right support systems in place, we can ensure that all students have equal access to housing, allowing them to thrive academically without the burden of family circumstances and housing weighing them down.

For many students, the stress of finding stable housing can overshadow their entire university experience. The rent guarantor barrier is one of the clearest examples of how housing systems can exclude the very people universities say they want to support. A guarantor requirement may look like a standard rental safeguard, but for students without family support, it can become an instant block to accessing safe accommodation, creating delay, stress, and, in some cases, homelessness.

A rent guarantor requirement assumes that every student has a financially secure adult who can step in and underwrite a tenancy. For many students, that assumption simply does not hold. Care-experienced and estranged students may not have a parent, guardian, or trusted family member who can act in that role, and even when someone is willing, they may not meet a landlord’s financial criteria. That means a system designed around the average student quietly excludes the students who most need stability.

From a systems perspective, the problem is not just the guarantor form itself. It is the way housing processes are built around family-backed security rather than student reality. When a student cannot secure accommodation because they cannot provide a guarantor, they are pushed into a cycle of delay and risk. They may have to keep searching for private landlords, pay more for worse housing, accept insecure arrangements, or rely on short-term fixes that do not support long-term study. The barrier is administrative, but the impact is deeply practical, ultimately jeopardising students’ ability to continue their education and complete their degrees.

This issue matters because housing is not separate from education. If a student is spending weeks trying to solve a guarantor problem, that is time and energy taken away from starting university well, settling in, and engaging with academic life. If they are forced to move farther away because a property is available without a guarantor requirement, they may face longer commutes, higher transport costs, and fewer opportunities to participate fully in university. If they have to disclose their personal circumstances repeatedly to access support, the emotional burden grows as well. A system that makes housing access uncertain makes it harder to sustain education.

The consequences of keeping the guarantor barrier in place are wider than individual inconvenience. Students who cannot access suitable accommodation early may miss deadlines, turn down places, or arrive at university already behind. Others may take on unsafe financial risk, sign contracts they do not fully understand, or move into unsuitable housing because they are running out of options. Over time, this can affect retention, well-being, attainment, and belonging. In other words, a guarantor policy is not just an accommodation issue; it is an access and success issue.

Meaningful support starts with universities and housing providers recognising that this is a structural barrier, not an edge case. One part of the solution is to remove guarantor requirements where possible, especially in university-managed housing. Where that is not immediately possible, institutions should offer a clear and automatic alternative, not a confusing case-by-case process. This means providing options such as a university-backed guarantor scheme, a rent assurance fund, or a deposit structure that does not rely on family support. The key is that it must be easy to understand, quick to access, and consistently available, ensuring all students feel supported and secure in their housing choices. By implementing these measures, we can create an inclusive environment that fosters the success of students who are experiencing and estranged.

Just as importantly, students should not have to discover these options through chance, crisis, or informal advice from peers. Information needs to be visible from the point of offer, and staff across admissions, accommodation, student support, and widening participation need to know what to do. A student should never lose out on housing because one part of the institution does not know what another part is offering. Joined-up systems prevent students from falling through the gaps. For care-experienced and estranged students, stable accommodation can be the difference between pursuing their dreams and feeling forced to drop out of university, as I learned firsthand, like other care-experienced and estranged students, when I struggled to find housing between terms, eventually becoming homeless and nearly having to drop out due to commuting over three hours from Aberdeen due to a lack of housing support. 

Removing the rent guarantor barrier is ultimately about levelling the playing field and fairness. It is about designing housing processes around the reality of students’ lives rather than the assumptions of landlords or institutions. Care-experienced and estranged students should not need family wealth or family involvement to access a safe place to live.

We need a system that understands that independence is not the same as supportlessness.

Access to housing and the opportunity to pursue a degree that matches the aspirations of care-experienced and estranged students should be based on need, not family circumstances.

The solution is straightforward; with the right support systems in place, we can ensure that all students have equal access to housing, allowing them to thrive academically without the burden of family circumstances and housing weighing them down.