Holiday cottage - Booting family out, AIBU?

[HolidayCottageAnnoyance]

I have a holiday cottage which does not allow children under 12. This is for health and safety reasons (think steep stairs, pond, open and functioning fireplace etc). It says on the listing at three different points on the listing page that children under 12 are not allowed. This includes babes in arms. It also makes it clear when you book (i.e. once you've selected dates and you get through to payment) that children are not allowed. There is literally no way this can be missed.

I had a phone call from a neighbour this morning as they had seen a toddler in the garden and had noticed that the car that the 'couple' arrived in has a baby-seat in it. I rang the cottage company before lunch and received a rather passive response that made it clear they didn't want the grief of turfing the family out. I was very firm and said I wanted them out by the end of the day. Long story short they are still there (I have texted said neighbour to check).

So here is my AIBU: would I be completely unreasonable to send a relative tomorrow to boot them out if they are still there? As it's all done through the cottage company I have no way of getting in touch with them myself, so either relying on the ineffectual cottage company or sending a relative are my only choices.

YABU: Let it go, the child hasn't been injured so far and it's only four more nights.
YANBU: They're cheeky fucks and you should boot them out even if the holiday cottage company isn't going to help. Then you should find a new holiday cottage company to list through.

You need to go back to the holiday company and say a DC’s life is at risk and you won’t be accepting a passive response. You go in all gins blazing telling them that they need to move the family.

Personally, I’d probably leave them be. If they were dumb enough to book it, the risk is on them and I wouldn’t want the hassle of dealing with refunding them or dealing with the aggro of bad reviews.

Why would they need refunding? They broke the rules. That response would be adequate to answer a bad review too. None of these are good reasons to let it slide. The rule is there for a reason. Saying they're dumb is all the more reason why they shouldn't be left around pools with children.

If any accidents occur, you'll be the one they'll be looking to for compensation and to blame. Does your insurance include/exclude cover of children 12 & under? If they're not covered, I'd be inclined to tell them to leave for insurance reasons alone, but I think you'll need to do it immediately because you're obviosly now aware of the children being there.

Best advice

Well I wouldn’t send a relative round to muscle them out (bit weird- sounds very mafia) but you do need to act. The cottage company should surely recognise this is an insurance risk. The family equally are playing with fire- ponds are a nightmare.

Ring agents and follow up with an email (so confirmed in writing), pointing out it's clearly in the terms that under 12s are not included, and ask them to contact occupants pointing this out, for that reason they ask occupants to leave - if they don't, you're not in any way liable for any accidents/problems which may arise for those under 12 as they're contradicting terms of their stay.

if harm comes to anyone, youre covered with your "no under 12"."."YOU HAD NO IDEA THEY HAD BOUGHT THEIR BRATS !!...(erm kids.)..if no harm then youve made your money from them... cheeky fuckers

This.

OP - it really depends if you want to continue working with this agent.

They may try to bin you and you could lose all your bookings, despite their being at fault. However you may feel they’re untrustworthy and not want to work with them further.

I would just let them stay, your public liability insurance will cover you and it will probably be fine. Have stiff words with them afterwards that if this happens again you will change agencies.

The holiday company does need to evict the family rather than your relative. Clearly the family thought they could get away with it.

Obviously you think it's perfectly clear but when you move to the new booking agent (which you should regardless of how this is resolved) can you have a tick box 'all party members are aged 12+ and if you have under 12s in your party your booking will be null and void and you will need to leave immediately without a refund or compensation.' (Obviously worded more legally speaking!)

Unfortunately that doesn’t allow for the human psyche.

Last summer we were in a pretty horrendous car crash. It wasn’t at all our fault - in fact the other driver was prosecuted and we were treated as if we were the victims of a crime. But for the first hour after the crash the emergency services had to work to get the other driver out of his vehicle and they weren’t sure if they would be able to. It was one of the worst hours of my life. And the relief when they got him out and he was fine was enormous. If he had died then we would have had to live with it.

The Op has no responsibility here but if something awful happens then her life would be changed forever.

It’s poor advice.

You can’t shift the responsibility for insurance (for your own property) to another party via an email.

You can only could say that the event of a claim you will seek some compensation for their mistake.

You can’t exclude children from pubic liability insurance.

I'd be worried about your insurance. Have you asked them?

If you have the contact details for the tenants, contact them and give notice they are in breach of contract and are to leave the cottage immediately.

NRTFT.

@HolidayCottageAnnoyance
Email the letting agent now. Tell them you will take absolutely no responsibility for their negligence in not removing these people from your property - and for them refunding then accordingly.

The property is not suitable for children and they know this.

eta You need to find a more responsible letting agent and thank the neighbour.

You can't just relinquish liability, that's not how it works.

OP you need to email the agents using alarming language eg child safety risk immediate danger insurance invalidated and so on

A DC could die, this is urgent, it’s not about insurance and liability.

Contact the holiday company now and tell them your insurance won't cover and you don't accept any responsibility and will be taking this further. Then get a local solicitor to draft a letter to send to the holiday company. If you don't they'll keep booking families in and it's only a matter of time until something goes wrong and it will be in you because insurance companies will always try and weasel out of it.

A brief update: relative has gone over to the cottage company office which is in the same village as my holiday cottage. The cottage company were emailed at lunch, following the call, and have not replied so I thought this was a nice and restrained middle ground.

Ultimately, I am not worried about my insurance or anything like that. I’m sadly not positive enough to think that emailing them my concerns absolves me of any blame should anything terrible happen. Perhaps it does. But I won’t take that risk. Chances are the child would be fine, but again I’m not taking that risk. I instituted the no under 12s rule for a reason!

Have you tried calling the holiday company OP?

Although many children grow up next to bodies of water

I don't think you should send a relative to boot then out, that's crazy. Your contact is surely with the lettings company, I would be telling them what they should be doing. Surely that's what their commission is for.

That really is down to the parents who can't read the words "Adults only" tbh.

If you were a complete numpty and took your kid on a bender at the pub, letting them drink vodka from their sippy cup even though you KNOW that kids shouldn't be there...

OP needs to check her contract with the agent.

If the guest omitted the info, the agent is not at fault.

If OP then takes it on herself to evict the guests - she could be in breach of contract herself.

OP needs to let the agent handle it, if they don’t - she may prefer to find a different agent.