Zero Deposit launches Guarantor+, and JLL the first major partner announced

The continued rollout of Guarantor+ comes at a pivotal time for the private rented sector, with an estimated 580,000 lets handled by agents each year.* 

Since going live in February 2026, Guarantor+ has seen rapid adoption across the market. From 1st May, a number of high-volume businesses - including some of the UK’s largest letting agencies and build-to-rent providers - will be offering the product, making it available across almost a quarter (24%) of UK rental properties.* 

With the forthcoming Renters’ Rights Act set to abolish advance rent, landlords are losing one of their most important tools for managing affordability risk. At the same time, rising rents, increasing landlord costs, and ongoing economic uncertainty are placing additional strain on household finances. 

Together, these pressures are creating a widening protection gap. Landlords need a reliable way to secure rental income where tenants may not meet traditional referencing criteria, while agents require solutions that protect all parties without slowing the lettings process. 

Guarantor+ has been developed specifically to address this challenge, providing certainty, speed, and protection across the rental journey. 

A strong fit for JLL within a growing market movement

Following a thorough review of the market and assessment of multiple providers, JLL has selected Guarantor+ as a solution that aligns with its commitment to delivering a high-quality, future-ready lettings service. The rollout is already underway across 11 JLL branches. 

JLL joins a rapidly expanding group of leading operators adopting Guarantor+, reflecting a broader shift across the industry toward regulated, scalable alternatives to traditional guarantor models. 

Guarantor+ stands apart as a product that offers regulatory protection for both tenants and landlords. This dual protection helps safeguard agents and operators against risks such as mis-selling, pressure selling, and unfair pricing, setting a new benchmark for transparency and accountability in the sector.* 

In addition to this regulatory strength, JLL sought a partner with a proven track record. Zero Deposit brings extensive experience, having supported more than 200,000 tenants and provided over £170 million in landlord cover.* This scale and operational expertise underpin the robustness and reliability of the Guarantor+ proposition. 

The product also delivers practical operational benefits, including a fully digital journey that enables fast decision-making and integrates seamlessly into existing workflows, helping agents progress deals more efficiently while maintaining strong protection for landlords. 

Raising the standard for rental security

As the rental market continues to evolve, the need for trusted, regulated solutions has never been greater. The rapid uptake of Guarantor+ across providers signals a clear shift away from traditional guarantor models towards more consistent, scalable, and transparent approaches. 

Through partnerships with firms like JLL and many others across the sector, Zero Deposit is supporting a more resilient rental ecosystem, one that reflects the realities of today’s market while protecting the interests of tenants, landlords, and agents alike. 

Sam Reynolds, CEO of Zero Deposit commented: 

“The growing adoption of Guarantor+ reflects the need for more sophisticated, regulated solutions to Renters’ Rights Act challenges. This is an emerging category which is fraught with potential risk and conflict if not managed well. We’ve solved these challenges through applying, we believe, robust standards of regulation, and this is one of the reasons why we’ve rapidly grown our market share. 

We’ve been able to assess the category from afar and build a market-leading product that gives our partners, landlords, and tenants greater certainty and protection and removes friction from the lettings process. At the core of our values, we’ve built a product that’s fair to all parties. 

We are proud to be partnering with JLL, an operator that has taken a thoughtful, rigorous approach to assessing the guarantor market, to deliver a solution that instantly removes the advanced rent challenge on 1st May.” 

Neil Short, Area Director, Residential Lettings at JLL, commented: 

"The Renters' Rights Act has removed rent in advance as an option, which many of our tenants - particularly overseas students - previously relied on for a number of reasons. 

"We've partnered with Zero Deposit because Guarantor+ gives these tenants a practical alternative. It means they can still access the rental market and pay monthly, which is what most people want to do anyway. 

"What's equally important is that our landlords have proper protection. They're the beneficiary of the guarantee, so if a tenant falls into arrears, the insurer steps in and covers it - up to £130,000. It's a solution that works for everyone and helps us continue serving a diverse tenant base in this new regulatory environment." 

Sources and notes

• *Estimated annual lets handled by UK agents sourced from Statista (1) and (2), and Goodlord.

• *Instant Decisions refers to the insurer's approval decision only. Guarantee activation may be subject to additional checks..

• *”Guarantor+ is the only product on the market that provides regulatory protection for both tenants and landlords” - Based on data as of January 2026.

• *Zero Deposit has supported more than 200,000 tenants and provided landlords with over £170m of cover via its Deposit Alternative product - based on Zero Deposit internal data as of January 2026.

• *Fairly priced product - based on ZDs regulatory status, subject to fair value assessment and internal comparison data as of January 2026.

• *Estimated 24% market share is based on UK rental market benchmarks and internal Zero Deposit partner adoption data, modelled to reflect agent-managed lettings.