To ask the Minister for Communities (i) for his assessment of the requirement that guarantors for rental tenants must be resident in Northern Ireland; and (ii) to detail the guidance his Department offers on this matter.

Private tenancies legislation does not include any stipulations in relation to requirements for guarantors, and it is a matter for landlords/agents as to whether they wish to ask for this form of security. Landlords/agents also take alternative forms of security, such as, rent in advance and/or references from previous landlords.

My Department does not have any guidance on this matter.