JourneyStead Help

Renting a place

People who help pay your rent

Add a parent, a guardian, a bursary or an employer, and what each share means.

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A parent, a guardian, a bursary or an employer can pay some or all of your rent. You add them in your rental passport, under People who help pay, and a landlord is more comfortable when the rent is covered.

They must agree themselves

You cannot agree for them. Each person you add is emailed a link that works for 14 days, and nothing is agreed until they read it and press Agree. They can also decline, and then nothing is agreed in their name.

Add the person

Give their name and email address, and what share of the rent they will pay.

They are emailed

They see who is asking and what they are being asked to agree to, including their share of the rent as a percentage.

You are told

When they answer, you are told. An agreement is recorded with their typed name and the time.

Shares

  • Your own share is whatever is left. If a parent pays 60%, you pay 40%.
  • Together, your sponsors can cover at most 100%.
  • If you change someone’s share, they are asked to agree again, because they would be agreeing to something different.
  • You can remove someone. They are then no longer one of the people who help pay.

A guarantor

A guarantor promises to pay if you cannot. They are told this when they are asked, and they also sign the lease. A guarantor does not need an account of their own: they sign from a link. See If you agreed to pay someone’s rent.

If NSFAS pays your rent

If NSFAS funds your place, your landlord records its payments as NSFAS, and it pays the landlord directly. No late fee is ever charged on an NSFAS-funded lease. Put your bursary letter in your passport so the landlord can see it.

Note

A sponsor who has agreed, or a bursary letter, is one of the things a landlord usually expects to see for a student. Your passport lists it as missing until you have one.

Your rental passport Fill in your details and documents once, and share only what you choose.Applying for a place Apply from a listing, add people who will share the lease, and follow the application.If you agreed to pay someone’s rent Agreeing or declining, signing as a guarantor, and paying your share.