Limits on guarantors and rent guarantees, by country
A landlord who doubts a tenant can often ask for more than the tenant's word, and the statutes treat that request very differently. Norway and Spain put a ceiling on the guarantee (six months' rent together with the deposit in Norway, two months' rent on top of the deposit in Spain), Germany caps any security at three months' rent without naming guarantees, and Sweden leaves the amount open but lets a guarantor of a home leave the commitment. The Ontario statute only lets a landlord weigh guarantees when choosing a tenant, within regulations.
Scope of this guide
Canada: the Canada Labour Code (federal sector) and the Ontario statutes that LawAsked has loaded. Other provinces are not compared.
| Country | Guarantor or guarantee | Cap on security |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | May be used when selecting a tenant, in the manner set by regulations | |
| Germany | Three months' rent, excluding service charges paid as a lump sum or in advance | |
| Spain | Extra guarantee may be agreed in addition to the cash deposit; the tenant cannot be made to take out rent-default insurance | Two months' rent for housing leases of up to five years (seven if the landlord is a company); one month for temporary leases |
| Norway | A guarantee may be agreed; the guarantor cannot be allowed to pay out regardless of the tenant's objections to the landlord's claim | Six months' rent for guarantee and deposit together |
| Sweden | A guarantor or pledger for a home lease may end the commitment on nine months' notice, at the earliest two years after it began |
Country by country
Canada
- Rule
- Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 s. 10
- Only the selection of tenants is stated in the text available here. The statute does not give a cap on a guarantee, and the regulations it refers to are not ingested.
- Ontario residential tenancies only; a landlord may not collect any security deposit other than a rent deposit (s. 105).
landlords may use, in the manner prescribed in the regulations made under the Human Rights Code , income information, credit checks, credit references, rental history, guarantees Germany
- Rule
- BGB § 551
- The section speaks of any "Sicherheit" the tenant must give and does not name guarantees; it is shown here as the cap on security. Whether a guarantee counts is a point a person should check.
- A term worse for the tenant is void (subsection 4).
Hat der Mieter dem Vermieter für die Erfüllung seiner Pflichten Sicherheit zu leistenhöchstens das Dreifache der auf einen Monat entfallenden MieteEine zum Nachteil des Mieters abweichende Vereinbarung ist unwirksam. Spain
- Rule
- Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos art. 36.5
- Applies to housing leases. The cash deposit itself (one month of rent for housing) is separate from this extra guarantee.
Las partes podrán pactar una garantía del cumplimiento por el arrendatario de sus obligaciones arrendaticias adicional a la fianza en metálico.En ningún caso podrá exigirse al arrendatario la contratación de seguros de impago de renta u otras coberturas análogas.el valor de esta garantía adicional no podrá exceder de dos mensualidades de rentaEn el caso de los arrendamientos temporales el valor de esta garantía no podrá exceder de una mensualidad de la renta. Norway
- Rule
- Husleieloven §§ 3-5, 3-6
- Covers rental of housing under the Act; the Ministry may make exceptions by regulation for the deposit rules (§ 3-5).
skal stille garantiGarantibeløpet kan sammen med depositum etter § 3-5 ikke overstige summen av seks måneders leie.Det kan ikke avtales med virkning for leierens regressansvar at garantisten skal ha rett til å utbetale garantien uten hensyn til leierens innsigelser mot utleierens krav. Sweden
- Rule
- Jordabalk 12 kap. 28 a §
- Covers security given for a lease of a dwelling; a term limiting this right is invalid. No cap on the amount is stated in this section.
- For business premises a different rule applies (28 §): the tenant must provide new security if it worsens.
får pantsättaren eller borgensmannen säga upp sitt åtagandenärmast efter nio månader från uppsägningentvå år från det att åtagandet började att gällaEtt villkor som inskränker pantsättarens eller borgensmannens rätt enligt denna paragraf är ogiltigt. Countries not in this table yet
The United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Austria and Japan are not shown because the ingested tenancy statutes do not state a rule on guarantors (the Dutch deposit cap appears in the guide on rent paid upfront). The United States, Australia and France have no tenancy statute ingested.
How this table was built
Every row is taken from the official, consolidated text of the statute, which LawAsked loads from each government’s legislation service.
Each figure is tied to a passage quoted word for word from that text. When the page is served, it checks that every quoted passage is still in the current text of a law that is in force; if a law is amended and its wording changes, that row is hidden until a person reviews it again.
The table shows the statutory minimum only. Collective agreements, awards and individual contracts often give more than the statute, and some countries let a collective agreement set different terms.
Use this data
The table and the CSV are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0: credit LawAsked and link to this page. Quoted statute text stays under the terms of its official source.
How to cite this page
LawAsked, “Limits on guarantors and rent guarantees, by country”, https://lawasked.com/guides/rent-guarantor-limits (reviewed October 25, 2026).
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General legal information, not formal legal advice. The information provided on LawAsked does not constitute formal legal advice and creates no attorney-client relationship. If you require legal assistance, please consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction.