Can an 18 year old rent a flat?

[Freshstarts23]

DD wants to move out, for a variety of reasons I think it’s probably for the best. I know I’m probably being unreasonable but we are where we are.

But is it possible, Will landlords accept her? I’ve no experience of renting. She has a full time job.

It's annual salary, not monthly - so, for example, if the rent is £1k pcm, the salary would need to be at least £30k pa.

It's exceptionally relevant. And ties into whether a child is financially capable of signing an occupancy contract, demonstrating their consistency and security of income, and frankly ensuring the child is not being exploited.

If a child was earning minimum wage at £5.28/hr they'd be taking home £915.20 per month for a 40hr working week.

If they were earning the living wage at £10.42/hr (which an employer is not obligated to pay until age 23) they'd be taking home £1563.36/per month for a 40hr calendar week.

As the child is currently 17, legally her employer cannot allow her to work more than 40hrs per week as she is a "young worker". Child labour laws are very clear.

Either this child is miraculously working for an employer paying her more than double the bare minimum she's entitled to - which would be an absolute miracle - or she's being exploited.

It will be terribly expensive to get a flat on her own on her salary even though it's an ok amount, DS had a flat on his own in Manchester when he was on £30k-£35k and found he didn't have much spare so he went back to house sharing.

It’s still not particularly relevant. I’ve said what she brings home, and I’m asking whether a landlord would be likely to accept her. Her hourly rate and working hours are not relevant to the question. It’s something the landlord could enquire about, sure, but doesn’t really change the answers to this question.

My 17yo gets paid £11 per hour as a lifeguard.

Over the summer he's been working full time. It's not like this is impossible.

It would be illegal for the NHS - or any other employer - to allow her to work in excess of 40hrs per week aged 16-17.

If you work in a trust where this is happening, it's pure exploitation of young workers and they'll find themselves at the wrong end of court.

I’ve tried to tell her this. She may have to learn the hard way, or rethink her plans when she finds it’s not that easy to get accepted in the first place.
As it is she never has money left at the end of the month, and that’s without paying rent!

I think the best she can expect is a bedsit but most likely shared accommodation.
If she only wants a flat she'll be having to look in undesirable areas where landlords are desperate for a tenant and even then it's unlikely what with the competition.

I think a house share in a nicer area with nice people will be better than a bedsit in an unsafe area.

Dd and her BF did and they were students, they're still living there three years later, both needed guarantors.

Did the guarantors need to be homeowners?

I thought the NHS was a 24 hour service.

If you’re under 18, you cannot work more than 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week.
ExceptionsYou may have to work more than 48 hours a week on average if you work in a job:

• where 24-hour staffing is required
• in the armed forces, emergency services or police
• in security and surveillance
• as a domestic servant in a private household
• as a seafarer, sea-fisherman or worker on vessels on inland waterways
• where working time is not measured and you’re in control, for example you’re a managing executive with control over your decisions

If you’re in London she will really struggle to get a flat on her own. It took my until I was earning. £48k per year to be able to afford that, and that was very much just affording it (in Zone 4 so not exactly central)

house share far more realistic but the London rental market is wild and cut throat at the moment.

It's really simple. Is her job permanent and can she get a reference from her employer? Is a bedsit/studio/one bed flat affordable on her salary? Does she have the money for a deposit?

I don't really understand what the other questions are.

I have no idea, she didn't ask me because she knew what the answer would be.

You don't need to be a homeowner to be a guarantor. My aunt told my cousin she couldn't because she wasn't, but when they spoke to the lettings agent they said no, you just need to have a steady job/income

Well you have kind of answered what some of the questions are.

Does she need to be on a permanent contract?

What percentage of salary would a landlord class as affordable?

Does she need references? If so who from seeing as she’s never rented?

Would a landlord bother with an 18 year old with no credit history when there are probably better candidates?

I was looking for a place to rent outside of London about 5 years.

Not a single agent would take us on due to our wages not being enough, so it is very unlikely she would be able to get a place on her wage that way.

She might be able to thinking out the box, maybe try the council, they may have a list of landlords? check out who the housing associations are in your area. Mine does private rentals as well. Places like gumtree have ads, but I have no idea how great they are

Just for my own curiosity OP, how do you not own your own home and not have experience renting?

Sorry I wasn’t clear. I have a council home. Have had it a long time and have no experience of private renting and how it all works.

She would never get a council home round here. I know people that have been waiting 10 years.

@Blossomtoes

www.nhsemployers.org/publications/busting-myths-recruiting-under-18s-nhs

"Working time arrangements for under 18s must be reflective of the law that states workers aged between school leaving age and 17 must not work more than eight hours a day and 40 hours a week. They should receive a 30-minute break once they are working more than 4.5 hours or more per shift.

Young workers must be allowed to have at least 12 hours break between shifts and at least one 48-hours break each week. They cannot opt out of the working time limits. However, the host organisation can ask a young worker to work for longer in exceptional circumstances. They can only ask if:

* there is no one 18 years or over available to do the work
* it enables continuity of service during a very busy period
* the young worker's education or training is not impacted by the work.

Similar rules apply for young workers being asked to work at night. Normally, they should not be asked to work between 10pm and 6am. In exceptional circumstances, the host organisation can ask if the following applies:

• the conditions meet those listed above the young person is supervised by an adult if necessary for their safety the young person is given compensatory time to rest. *Ensure trust policies support hosting under 18s. They should clearly set out the organisations commitments to managing health and safety of young staff."

The exception is not the rule, but shitty managers gonna be shitty managers - I highly doubt there are an army of 17yo HCAs propping up the profession.

I was going to say that OP probably has a council house

It might be a good exercise for her to go through. If she spends all her money now, then she will need to get a deposit together, plus the first month's rent..and do a budget for utilities on top which will start month 1. With London, I can see it gobbling up most of her take home salary.

How much rent is she expecting to pay, there will be bills as well

Rent here for a studio is £1000 upwards so unless she lives somewhere much cheaper I would say she is better off re ting a bedroom.

Nonsense. I had a salaried job whilst still in high school. My salary was £13k(ish). I worked 20h/week, in the evenings. I worked for a bank, in their call centre. This was in the mid 2000s. My disposable income at 17-18 was more than it is now, lol. Some teens have well paying jobs.