Interview: Graham Hayward, Managing Director, Housing Hand
Property Soup (PS): What gap in the rental market did Housing Hand set out to fill back in 2013, and how has that vision evolved over time?
Graham Hayward (GH): While at university, our CEO Jeremy saw how hard it was for some students to secure the accommodation they wanted. It sparked the idea that turned into Housing Hand.
Our original mission was to make renting fairer and more accessible for students and working professionals who weren’t in a position to provide a personal guarantor. Since then, we’ve grown to become the UK and Ireland’s leading rent guarantor – but we’re just getting started…
Our work is now focused on making renting fairer and more accessible for everyone, and we’re building new products to meet the needs of today’s renters. Our Only My Share service, for example, supports renters in house shares to minimise their liability. A lot of sharers don’t realise that they could be liable for their housemates’ rent, with that liability often running to tens of thousands of pounds.
We also offer a depositless renting service for those using Housing Hand as their guarantor. It removes the obstacle of finding a deposit from the rental process, meaning more renters can afford to secure their dream property.
Also launched this year is our virtual health and wellbeing service, available to everyone using Housing Hand as their guarantor, offering phone and video appointments for physical and mental health needs. We will continue to evolve our service offering over the coming months and years, ensuring we deliver our vision of supporting renters in new and innovative ways.
PS: Housing Hand has guaranteed over £800 million in rent and supported more than 100,000 tenants. What have been the key drivers of that growth?
GH: Several factors have underpinned Housing Hand’s growth over the past 12 years. Chief among them is our trusted reputation with both renters and accommodation providers. We maintain a 100% payout record for all valid claims. That trust has enabled our brand to grow on incredibly strong foundations.
We have also invested significantly in our technology and processes. We’re making renting easier for everyone involved in the rental transaction, with seamless experiences supporting growth. We’re also continually developing new services and add-ons, so that our all those we work with get outstanding value. For example, this year we launched a new virtual health and wellbeing service, which means anyone who uses Housing Hand as their rent guarantor can now access GP services by phone and video call for their physical and mental health needs.
The wider context has also supported the growth of the guarantor market, with the latest English Housing Survey showing that one in five private renters were asked to provide a guarantor when they moved into their current property. A tough economic climate and the exodus of landlords from the private rented sector are contributing to this, making it harder for tenants to secure accommodation as rents rise.
Over the past two years, we’ve seen valid claims grow by around 10-15% from rental defaults, while demand for our risk management services has grown in the 35-50% range. And over the past four years, we’ve settled £4.5m worth of claims, from which 30% has been mediated before escalation. This means that tenants have been able to retain occupancy, which benefits both the tenant and the accommodation provider.
All sectors – Build to Rent, houses in multiple occupation, purpose-built student accommodation and more – are driving growth. There’s a push for frictionless integration between the higher education sector and accommodation providers, not just in terms of housing but in terms of social and wellbeing support. We’re proud to be supporting growth in that area.
The final factor comes down to our people. We are a business founded on strong values of helping people and our staff embody this every day. Our customers feel supported and know that we’re here to help. That climate of help and trust underpins our growth.
What does securing a guarantor through Housing Hand change for a student or professional renter compared with the traditional guarantor model?
GH: Renters who use Housing Hand have a wider pool of accommodation available to them. Both the renter and potential landlords can trust that, if the renter becomes unable to pay their rent, Housing Hand will step in to help, swiftly and efficiently. It means both parties in the rental transaction can enjoy greater peace of mind. As the risk of default is reduced, the pool of landlords happy to take on the renter grows. We also make the process of obtaining a guarantor swift and easy, which makes the rental transaction speedier for all parties.
Using Housing Hand also means renters avoid the stress of putting a parent or other individual in an awkward position by asking them to act as their guarantor.
You now work with more than 4,000 partners, from letting agents to universities and embassies. How do these partnerships help shape the service?
GH: Our partnerships help us meet the needs of local renters and local accommodation providers through a tailored approach. We work hard to understand local markets and support seamless rental experiences in them. Partnerships with letting agents, universities, purpose-built student accommodation providers, landlords, embassies and others mean we can not only serve as a guarantor but easily pair those seeking accommodation with those providing it. For renters, it makes finding a home easier. For our partners, it makes filling their accommodation easier. Everyone benefits. Plus, all parties have the peace of mind that comes with guaranteed rent.
For landlords and agents, what reassurance does Housing Hand provide when dealing with tenants who may otherwise struggle to access the market?
GH: Housing Hand provides the reassurance that rent will be paid. It means that landlords and agents aren’t ‘taking a chance’ by working with tenants who would otherwise struggle to access the market. We take the risk out of the equation.
Your customer base spans international students, UK students, and relocating professionals. How do their needs differ, and how does Housing Hand cater to those differences?
GH: From a practical point-of-view, students often have no credit history, meaning they need a guarantor. For international students, their lack of UK address when applying to rent homes can also be an issue. Relocating professionals can run into the same problem. Accommodation providers traditionally addressed this by asking for several months’ rent upfront.
Domestic and international students, and relocating professionals, may also lack knowledge of how the UK rental market works. We’re here to help with that, too. Our staff are always on hand to explain processes and provide whatever information renters need. This will include providing information on the changes likely to result from the proposed Renters’ Rights Bill, which is now in what should be its final phase of its journey through Parliament. We’re watching the progress of the proposed Bill carefully, ready to work with landlords and tenants alike to ensure a common understanding of the Bill and the changes it triggers.
One further aspect of our work is helping renters find suitable homes. Our house finder service means that anyone trying to find a home in an area they’re not familiar with can easily connect with suitable accommodation providers.
In terms of different needs, our recent report, Understanding Renters in 2025, shows that students are twice as likely to live in a shared household as working professionals (40% vs. 20%). That means products like our Only My Share service are particularly relevant to student renters.
“Just 47% of student renters know how to set up utilities contracts, compared to 82% of working professionals.”
Students also have greater knowledge gaps than working professionals when it comes to rental financial literacy. For example, just 47% of student renters know how to set up utilities contracts, compared to 82% of working professionals, according to the findings of the survey that informed our Understanding Renters in 2025 report.
Students also have less awareness of deposit protection schemes, with just 47% having heard of these, versus 67% of working professionals. Worryingly, 33% of students don’t know if their tenancy agreement is on a joint or individual basis (compared to 22% of professionals), while 44% don’t know how much notice they need to give (compared to 21%) of working professionals who rent.
These knowledge gaps are exacerbated for international students, who are less clear on matters such as deposits and the consequences of late rent payments than their UK-based counterparts.
Renting is often criticised for being slow and complex. How is Housing Hand using technology or process innovation to make things “simple and seamless”?
GH: We have led the guarantor market in terms of investing in our tech to make renting simpler. It means that we’ve reduced the application process timelines significantly while using a robust, market-leading process – we use a similar Know Your Customer approach to banks. Typically, our guarantee processing time is around three to five working days. However, we can process in as little as one working day if we receive all the required documents and payments from the applicant.
We rely on our expert team, as well as our tech, with a Customer Experience Officer assigned to every applicant, to ensure things proceed smoothly. We are also continuing to invest in new technology, most recently adding a Verbaflo conversational AI assistant to help users of our website and telephone support service find the information they need swiftly.
Also with a view to speeding up the renting process and reducing complexity, our Guarantor Passport service enables renters to sort out their guarantor before finding their accommodation. With the guarantee already issued, they can choose where to live with confidence while enjoying a speedier rental process.
With the UK rental market under huge pressure, what trends are you seeing among students and professionals trying to secure accommodation today?
GH: We know that renters are feeling under pressure. Our January 2025 survey found that renters feel overwhelmed (25%), uncertain (22%), anxious (21%), scared (9%) and out of their depth (4%) when first renting a home. That speaks volumes about the state of the UK rental sector. We’re seeing students and working professionals racing to try and secure accommodation and all too often missing out on it due to increased competition for rental homes across the market as a whole.
We also know that the implications of the proposed Renters’ Rights Bill will need plenty of explaining to the renters it impacts. Our survey in January found that 69% of those who rent privately have never heard of the Bill and 75% don’t know how it will impact them. The entire sector will need to work to change that.
Looking at the market as a whole, everything is very fast-moving at present, and with more and more accommodation providers demanding guarantors, renters have to be prepared. In this market, it makes sense for renters to get a guarantor in place before they start looking for a home – leaving it later can mean missing out on the property they’re trying to secure.
You’ve hinted at new products to meet the needs of modern renters. What can you share about what’s next for Housing Hand?
GH: We’ll be rolling out new products and services to provide greater support for tenants and accommodation providers as the impact of the proposed Renters’ Rights Bill is felt across the sector.
The first of these will be our new A-Void service, which is designed to give landlords some breathing space if a tenant gives two months’ notice in line with their new right to do so under the proposed Bill. This can be a major issue for landlords who rent to students, as filling a room for part of an academic year isn’t always easy. In such situations, A-Void will support the landlord by covering 50% of the rent for up to three months. It’s about taking the stress out of the situation while the landlord seeks a replacement tenant.
As the rental sector continues to evolve, so too will our product offering.
As managing director, what motivates you in leading Housing Hand, and what impact do you hope to make on the wider housing sector?
GH: Firstly, we have such a talent-packed team. Their enthusiasm and passion for helping renters is inspirational.
Secondly, we have such a great market opportunity, with strong partners who are keen to move ahead and benefit individual renters and the sector as a whole. At every corner of our business, we have multiple opportunities – the rental market is such a dynamic environment to develop, especially where the risk services element is still in its early stages.
Our goal is to remove barriers so tenants can access, rent and live in the accommodation they want. So, creating an impact is more a question of priorities and innovation. That’s a big motivating factor for me personally.
Being the leader by size, reach and range, in our chosen space means Housing Hand has a constant responsibility to set the standard and push boundaries, to ensure our clients continue to choose us as the trusted provider and standard setter. That’s a great daily motivator too, always pushing and inspiring me – and the whole Housing Hand team – to be our best so that our impact can be felt across the rental sector.
