Last week, we blogged about whether landlords should accept tenants with pets. This week, we’ve been thinking about whether landlords should accept children. In the UK, landlords are able to choose who they let to, and who they don’t. Many countries don’t allow this flexibility, and landlords are not able to refuse a tenancy to someone with children.
Those countries with more restrictive laws are often those where landlords tend to be corporations, rather than individuals. It is easy to understand why landlords trying to make a living from just a few properties, and making personal investments to buy them, want to minimise risk. Minimising risk can mean not letting to families with children.
Why do landlords choose not to let to families?
It can be very frustrating for parents looking for somewhere to rent, but there are good reasons why landlords are so often reluctant to let to them. Compared to young professionals, families tend to spend more time at home, causing much greater wear and tear. A family with preschool children and a stay-at-home parent will be using a property almost constantly. Couples without children might spend most of their waking hours either at work or out socialising. Children are often unwittingly responsible for damage to a property, often without their parents realising in time to stop it: crayons on the walls are a common problem, for example! Given the general undersupply of property in today’s market, it is often simply easier for landlords to let to those without children than to those with.
And why they should consider it…
There are obvious good reasons why landlords don’t want to let to families, but there are also good reasons why they should consider being flexible. Families tend to want to stay put for several years, especially if their children are enrolled in local schools. Letting to families means avoiding the cost and hassle of re-letting every six months that can come with letting to younger people. They are also much less likely to have big parties every weekend.
There are ways to try and reduce the impact of extra wear and tear that families can bring with them. Landlords could ask for an extra deposit, or put a clause in the contract asking them to redecorate before the move out. They could also consider taking out extra landlords insurance, and perhaps including the cost in the rent.
With so many families unable to buy property, demand from them is likely to increase in the coming years. It could make sense for landlords, especially in more suburban areas, to try and tap into that market now.