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.

Change your agent going forwards but I wouldn’t throw them out.

This is not a life threatening emergency. A pond just means the parents need to take care. How do you think families with toddlers cope with houses with swimming pools?

You need to go through the letting company. Make it clear that the property isn't suitable for young children and Make it clear that your insurance is invalid gor breach of contract and you can't accept liability for any accidents that might occur.

You need a paper trail just in case, sending a relative round and booting them out wouldn't be enough...
But I'd send them anyway just to clarify things... as in the child is definitely staying & sleeping at the cottage.

I think you may be overreacting a tad. The children have parents to watch them.

Make it clear that your insurance is invalid gor breach of contract and you can't accept liability for any accidents that might occur.

This is bollocks though and the agent will know that.

The insurance won’t be invalid. What insurance do you imagine excludes children?!

But if anything awful DID happen, you can bet that the parents wouldn't just go 'yeah, fair enough, our bad.' They would try to push the blame onto anyone else in the vicinity, and you can bet that it would end up being OPs problem. Even when it's obvious who is really to blame, those people can make everyone else's lives hell, especially if they feel really guilty.

WON’T SOMEONE THINK OF THE CHILDREN?! <runs away screaming>

"Garden ponds are a leading cause of accidental drowning for toddlers in the UK, with roughly 111 children under the age of five drowning in garden ponds over the last decade. While overall child drowning numbers in England have seen recent, sharp increases—doubling between 2019 and 2023—garden ponds account for 26% of all home-related child drownings"

Reading @LatteLadyreminded me of work colleague who’s four year old drowned in a garden pond while visiting. Adults were having coffee on the patio while child ran around with sibling. Medics who lived across the road couldn’t save him.

Boot them out with a very large 🥾. Why should you live with any kind of accident in your property.

<and falls in a pond>

They teach their children to swim from a very young age because they usually live in warmer climates so will often be close to bodies of water. They also have pool fences.

The H&M angle is bollocks though isn’t it? You just don’t want kids in your house

This.

Nope I don’t think I am.

@HolidayCottageAnnoyance So what happened when your relative went over to the holiday company's office?

Yes and these children have parents to watch them.

When people book, are there drop down fields to enter ages? Is there an indemnity clause in your contract between you and the Cottage company?

You are though.

And what happened when the relative went around OP?

Cars kill too. Should we ban them as well?

You didn’t make that rule for no reason. The holiday company should be made to enforce it.

If they care about their child's life they have appropriate safety measures like a lockable fence surrounding the pool.

Only because it’s a cold country and we don’t have many private swimming pools. In warmer countries with private pools - they are a far higher cause of drownings - do people with toddlers avoid renting villas with pools? Not necessarily.

It sadly happened on Christmas Day not far from where I live. The family were having a lovely day as we all do, big family gathering and the toddler escaped through french doors into the garden without anyone realising . Died in the pond. Absolutely tragic. Ponds should have nets.