renting flat to 17 year old couple

[skiingcat]

This is probably not in the right place but this is my first ever post..
My dh has a flat which he rents and we were showing people round yesterday and this couple were really keen however they are both only 17. They both work and have been to the council and got paperwork to confirm they can afford it. My husband agreed they could have it subject to the solicitor doing references. He agreed before I could jump in and say we would discuss it as we still had others to see. She seemed lovely but I didn't like the look of him but I am probably quite judgemental. I did some sock media searching when we got home and it seems like he has cheated on her in the past and she is barred from the pub he works in cause she doesn't get on with his family. Maybe I'm just worrying but I do not want trouble as getting tenants out seems like a nightmare and the law is more on their side than the landlords. Also he asked what our jobs were and when he said he was like oh you must have a fair amount of money coming in...

To be honest I would snoop too,why wouldnt you?
If I think of it in terms of renting out my own home to someone I didnt know and there was a chance I could have a nosy erm yeah i would....

Nope.

We rent out a house and I wouldn't let to anyone under 21.

I'm reluctant to let it to young ish couples at all really, even at 22/23/24 if childless. We've had two early twenties couples in the past who've lasted a few months then done a bunk with no notice when the relationship broke down.

I preferably look for a couple/single person with one or more kids. Much less likely to be flighty and run off ime.

People who are saying they rented at 17 and they were a good tenant.You are saying all 17 year olds are not the same,yes thats true.So there is a chance these 17 year olds are the oppositr to you.

I wouldn't. Just tell them that circumstances have changed.

How can you credit check them ? sounds a potentially volatile situation .

It doesn't sound like they will pass a credit or reference check anyways, regardless of their age.

Bird - in the past? I moved thousands of miles from home at 17, kept my space clean and managed to both pay my rent and help care for the disabled members of the house I lived in and completed the immigration process a few months later at 18 - way back in 2003. The idea that in old days people matured faster and better and today's lot are horrid is a mythos dating back to before ancient Babylon and doesn't reflect reality, only the confirmation biases of those spouting it.

If I had stayed in my home, there would have certainly been harm to myself. I would have either ended up stuck in my father's cult where the abuse I suffered would be even more undetectable with no way out or homeless again after another of her drunked tirades. She couldn't even live with me for two weeks when I was 17 without telling me how much she couldn't wait for me to leave. And housing schemes often require one to be local when staying local would have been dangerous for me. I'm thankful that a friend's parents were willing to take a chance on me. The idea that people are rushing to leave homes just creates barriers for those in situations like mine and blames young victims of abuse.

You don't sound like you have the necessary professional detachment to let a property. Of course check out all the official legal stuff like guarantors and whether the contract will be legally binding if they're under 18 but prying into their personal lives is inappropriate, imagine how you would feel if it was the other way around. I wouldn't put up with that from my landlady.

My gut reaction would be no. But last year a couple of 18 year olds rented a barn conversion near us. We had visions of wild parties & goodness knows what.
12 months later they are model residents; cycling everywhere, looking after peoples' pets and unblocking the drains in the road. They're actually a breath of fresh air.

but it isn't purely on their age is it ? The basic misgiving may be but if they are not old enough to legally sign a contract, may or may not have enough financial history and references then that supersedes the age in itself.

I'm not sure why you would be put off because he has cheated on her and she doesn't get on with his family. you don't know the full story and it's none of your business.

I wouldn't - I would view it as too much of a risk in terms of damage to the property and rent arrears. They won't have a reference from previous landlords.

His comment about the amount of money you have coming in would be ringing alarm bells with me - as someone said above it implies that you don't need the rent.

Can someone explain sock media to me please. I'm dim, obviously was it a typo, I assumed typo.

uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=A7x9QaFeMBNT3yAA4bFLBQx.;_ylu=X3oDMTE1ZTFma3RjBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA2lyZAR2dGlkA01TWVVLMDJfNzU-?qid=20101209132937AAPAS8W

This might help

Sorry - meant this one

www.tenantstips.com/Home/How-to-rent/Before-you-start-looking-to-rent/Renting-to-Minors-Can-I-Rent-Under-18#.UxMwuvl_ua8

not all 17 year olds are partying slobs - but no 17 year old can be held to a contract. This one also sounds mildly violent, and the comment that you have lots of money shows that he is also ignorant and entitled.

the 'prying on facebook' is called 'checking and referencing'. Not only he is a bit of a thug, but he happily tells the world about it.

don't rent to tenants who assume that landlords have infinite money.

and don't rent to these two. Run away. Once they are in, if they stop paying (and the signs are there) you've got four months of expense and no income to get them out.

ps just read the shelter link - so they could be held to contracts. But I still wouldn't touch them.

I wouldn't, based on what you've said about his comments and the background. If people are stupid enough to leave their fb wide open, then thats their lookout. You can rent your house to who you want.

Never mind their age, I wouldn't rent to anyone who made that comment about your income. He's already decided you're fair game for a rip-off.

It's nothing to do with the Equalities act, private landlords can rent to whoever they want and refuse to rent to whoever they want. They don't have to justify their reasons to anyone.

I think it's perfectly reasonable to want to know a bit about their personal lives if you are going to be taking a financial risk on them, and if they appear to be unstable as a couple, then it stands to reason that they may not be ideal as tenants.

There is also the point that at 17, they won't have had time to build up a good credit rating and they won't have references from previous landlords. That alone is enough of a reason to be wary when you are going to trust one of your biggest assets to the.

Landlords do need to be emotionally unattached to the properties they rent out, but they also need to be professional enough to do what is best for their business. They are not a social charity.

to rent to youngsters, I would want to know that they have enough income to run a home and know how to run one; i.e. that bins need emptying, food rots if you don't store it properly, taps need to be turned off, problems with the building advised to the landlord, and music kept to reasonable levels.

doesn't mean all older people know this but late teens are less likely to.

they are also very unlikely to be a stable couple at that age.

and I repeat, the comment about money shows that it will soon be 'sod the rent, the landlord can afford it'.

To people who are saying looking at social media is snooping, 1 they put it on the internet and that's their fault! And 2 I wouldn't mind someone looking on my Facebook, less intrusive in my opinion than the estate agent going through all our bank statements with his judgy face and asking questions about our spending! Getting a mortgage was actually easier!!!

I was wondering if one of them (or both) is a care leaver? That would explain their having council documents. All the same, I would still ditch them on the basis of his comment.