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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think that if a house is advertised as a family home

73 replies

gallifrey · 06/06/2013 13:04

then you would be allowed to live in it with a family!

Wrom we are in the process of moving about 100 miles away from where we live now. We have been looking on rightmove and thought we had found the perfect house for us. 3 bedroom, lovely garden and opposite a play area and in the catchment area for the best school in the area.

DH phoned the agent yesterday and was told that because he works and I am a SAHM we wouldn't even be allowed to view the house at all because the landlady was looking for a professional couple with no children.

We are beyond pissed off and really want to complain to someone about this discrimination

OP posts:

MonsieurReynard · 06/06/2013 22:03

Wonder if she's included a clause forbidding tenants from getting pregnant...? (Briefly worked in a letting agent and this would've been on the wall of shame, along with the LL that insisted on photogenic tenants, the LL who stipulated that no cars over three years old were to be kept at the property, the LL who forbade the cooking of curry, the LL who wanted to do twice-weekly no-notice inspections and the LL who didn't see the problem with having CCTV in the sitting room to 'keep an eye on my property'! Could add many more...although in fairness I don't doubt there's just as many stories about tenants and agents) Sounds like a lucky escape OP!

specialsubject · 06/06/2013 22:08

calm down. She doesn't want to rent to you. If she doesn't want to rent to everybody else who will want this place, it will be empty and she will get no rent. Kids do cause damage but no tenants means no rent.

forget it and move on. And there is no way she is allowed to inspect where you currently live, forget that too.

pigsDOfly · 06/06/2013 22:31

I just want my bloody tenant to pay the rent. Currently have court order over non payment, just waiting for bailiffs to go in to evict.

The LL sounds very odd. Really can't see the point in keeping a property empty until the perfect tenant comes along. And anyway, who is this perfect tenant. Young professionals can be incredibly careless, and teenagers? Really? Anyway, that's what the deposit is for surely, incase any damage is done.

DumSpiroSpero · 06/06/2013 22:44

MonsieurRenard how long did you do it for?

I lasted 9 weeks before leaving to go temping. Can honestly say I think I'd rather clean public toilets than work as a letting agent again

RevoltingPeasant · 06/06/2013 22:51

Pigs - every LL I've rented from insists on going back then the tenancy deposit scheme records to check you haven't had money deducted by a previous LL. so if you find a young professional tenant who hasn't had deductions, they probably think there's less chance of damage than with kids.

We waited till in our own property to ttc, partially because of the difficulties we thought there might be in renting with dc.

MonsieurReynard · 06/06/2013 22:59

DSS - thankfully I was just temp cover doing admin (mostly making the tea and washing the cats!) so just a few weeks, but I drew pretty much the same conclusion as you from watching the business - think you can really lose your faith in humanity in that kind of job!

MonsieurReynard · 06/06/2013 23:01

*cats=cars....there weren't any cats, and they usually wash themselves anyway!

DumSpiroSpero · 07/06/2013 08:02

I had worked weekends in an estate agents selling previously which was great fun - but lettings was bloody awful. In less than two months my stomach was churning and I was in tears on my way into work most days.

Even the bloke I worked for let his own properties through a different agent !

DumSpiroSpero · 07/06/2013 08:03

Rofl at washing the cats - I would have preferred that to the rest of it I think!

TolliverGroat · 07/06/2013 08:15

If you want to rent to a young professional couple and refuse to rent to a family with children then advertise it as "suits professional couple" rather than "family home". Surely that's just common sense?

sherbetpips · 07/06/2013 08:30

Friends of ours rented s house in a v posh area for years, they then had two kids and the landlady asked them to leave as she didn't want her house ruined by children. The house was hardly a show home but in reality it was party central before they had kids!

tootdelafruit · 07/06/2013 10:24

i dont think she's bonkers for wanting a professional couple in a family home (although perhaps missing a trick- if there is a good school/playpark etc- she could maybe up the price) but i do think she's bonkers for thinking she is or should be entitled to inspect a prosepective tenant's current home, especially when she seems to be offering no flexibility herself. like i said upthread- it's a two way street.

Mouserama · 07/06/2013 14:09

The fact that the LL wants two working tenants could be to do with insurance. I rent out a house, and the last insurance company I used (have since changed), would not provide buildings/contents insurance if both tenants weren't in employment.

LessMissAbs · 07/06/2013 14:45

If someone has no mortgage or is running it as a loss to offset against tax, then it might actually be cheaper to have no tenants or be very specific about tenants, than to repair damage to the décor caused by tenants. I know several rather semi-wealthy flat owners in Edinburgh in prime letting areas who now keep their properties rather than have the hassle of complying with the HMO Regulations or having them damaged by tenants.

While this landlady is over the top (just don't rent from her), I've also offered properties to tenants who have come back to me asking to change several clauses in the lease to their own wording - despite my lease being the standard one dictated by my local authority. I've just told them to take a running jump, as I can't be bothered with that.

I also won't let to tenants with children - its just too much hassle, as they nearly always constantly pester you with demands for alterations to the property to suit their children more, or complaining about various potential hazards - its just easier to let the property to young professionals or students when its an easy one to let.

Original poster

gallifrey · 12/06/2013 23:42

definitely a blessing in disguise not getting that house, we have found an even lovelier one now we move in next month

OP posts:

Doubtfuldaphne · 12/06/2013 23:48

I do think tenants should have the right to check on landlords too, to make sure they've had happy tenants and that they've looked after them. It's very one sided when renting.
I've heard of ll's wanting to check properties of prospective tenants but thought that was usually in the USA.
You've probably had a lucky escape!

jojane · 12/06/2013 23:55

There was a lovely big 5 bed house near us in the middle of nowhere ie a long commute to any city and was no kids, no ds's, no housing benefit, no pets, no sharers, no smokers etc.

We have rented this house for 4.5 years and never had an inspection, the landlord has never set foot inside the house although does have a handy man who does stuff so could maybe be reporting back I suppose. He did interview us when we took the house as he wanted to rent to somebody he "liked"

ComposHat · 13/06/2013 00:53

Sadly there's no one to complain to, landlords can chose to let to whoever they like, so long as they don't discriminate on grounds of race, gender or disability. If they don't want to let to smokers, pet owners, parents or some other batty reason, it is their lookout.

I am guessing the letting agents have a standard spiel for three bed houses with garden that they churn out over and over again and thus it gets described as a family home.

But you have had a lucky escape, odds are even if she'd let the house to you, she'd be round every 5 minutes checking up on you.

olidusUrsus · 13/06/2013 05:02

No pets. No housing benefit. No students. No children. No shared accommodation.

This is not uncommon at all, you'd be surprised how common it is I think and even more surprised at how often landlord's don't declare that this is the situation until after you put in an application

Re: deposit history, what happens if you get an arsehole of a landlord? Thinking of student properties mainly here where you get conned as you exit. I lost half my deposit on my student pad and the place was in better condition than before I moved in.

Also surely some LL's are discriminating against disability particularly by stating all adult tenants must be in full time employment? There's no 'actually I'm disabled' option when you apply for a place, is there? Whenever I have applied there's always only been "working", "not working" or "student" options.

Lovelygoldboots · 13/06/2013 07:42

How lovely for LL to be able to leave vacant properties when there are so many homeless people in this country. Yes, LL can rent to who they want. But they are benefitting from record low interest rates and keeping property prices artificially high. I think they should be taxed on this income benefit if that's the game they want to play.

hamilton75 · 13/06/2013 14:42

I think you have had a really lucky escape to be honest. She would be a nightmare landlord.

Original poster

gallifrey · 13/06/2013 14:44

Yes she would have been a pain in the backside for sure!

Can't believe we were so upset about this house when actually we have found a much nicer one now :) The owners have been living in it for the last 10 years and it's never been rented before so it's in lovely condition and having met us and liked us when we viewed have dropped the rent considerably so we could have it :)

OP posts:

whosiwhatsit · 13/06/2013 18:12

We were looking for a house to rent and when we found one we liked the letting agent phoned up the ll to ask if she would allow our cats in the propert. The ll said well I suppose so, at least they don't have children! I was shocked at the rudeness, as imagine if we'd been trying and failing tc.

Anyway, then it turned out we couldn't pass their credit check anyway because we were relocating for work (a good job with salary well above the threshold they required for renting at that price). I showed them the offer letter and told them they could verify with HR directly but no joy. They said it was because I could rent the house and then not turn up at the job my first day. I responded why on earth would we move to the area for a job and then not start work, and anyway anyone could decide not to turn up at their job at any time and it would come to the same thing. We are middle-aged homeowners with extremely good credit but they wanted us to have cosigners and suggested my (elderly, broke) parents. No thanks! We found a much nicer house to rent anyway.

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