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Original poster

Landlord doesn’t know I have a 1 year old

14 replies

DaniTTC · 10/04/2024 13:15

Hiya so I have a 13 month old and never told my landlord because after lots of googling I was under the impression I didn’t have to. And I applied for council housing and they said they would contact my landlord to see if my details are all correct ( so I don’t know if the council mentioned anything about me having a child or not) and I’ve been living here for 4 years this year and I’m due to have my first inspection at the end of the month
I don’t know what to do
I don’t know whether to wait and see if they mention as to why I have a cot in my bedroom
and if they do mention it tell the truth or say I look after my nephew sometimes

I’m so scared of getting kicked out but I have no where else to go I would be on the streets because property prices have gone up by so much recently
I can’t remember what the advert said when I applied for it
and as far as I can see In my tenancy agreement it just mentions pets not children
and I’m just panicking so much it’s eating me alive
im a good tenant
never had a noise complaint
pay half my rent 2 weeks in advance
the place is in good condition
i always report issues as soon as I notice them

OP posts:
HarraKiri · 10/04/2024 13:20

You don't need to tell your landlord when you have a child, there was no need to mention it. If your rent is paid on time, and the house is kept in a reasonable condition, and returned without damage, that's all that matters. Have the inspection, be open about the fact you had a child, you don't need to hide this. You can't be evicted for having a child

Original poster
DaniTTC · 10/04/2024 13:22

HarraKiri · 10/04/2024 13:20

You don't need to tell your landlord when you have a child, there was no need to mention it. If your rent is paid on time, and the house is kept in a reasonable condition, and returned without damage, that's all that matters. Have the inspection, be open about the fact you had a child, you don't need to hide this. You can't be evicted for having a child

Thank you I’m just such a huge worrier and always think the worst is going to happen

OP posts:
EvangelicalAboutButteredToast · 10/04/2024 13:27

I was going to say the same. It’s not like getting a cat or a dog. You are allowed to have children. Yes we know that landlords will specify who they want to rent to and within that they might say ‘professionals only’ or something which indicates they will actively choose those people over families. I don’t believe it would be lawful to make someone homeless in the basis of then having a child, but I’d love a professionals opinion on this. I would assume it’s discrimination and there are laws about that!

Fiddlerdragon · 10/04/2024 13:30

Our landlord refused to renew our tenancy when he found out I’d had a baby. We were at the end of the 6 month contract but he initially said he’d be happy to continue with a rolling tenancy. He actually gave the reason for the eviction as ‘I don’t think my apartment is suitable for children’. The apartment was fine for children and we left it in better condition than we got it in. Not all people are utter arseholes though

Fiddlerdragon · 10/04/2024 13:32

EvangelicalAboutButteredToast · 10/04/2024 13:27

I was going to say the same. It’s not like getting a cat or a dog. You are allowed to have children. Yes we know that landlords will specify who they want to rent to and within that they might say ‘professionals only’ or something which indicates they will actively choose those people over families. I don’t believe it would be lawful to make someone homeless in the basis of then having a child, but I’d love a professionals opinion on this. I would assume it’s discrimination and there are laws about that!

Edited

I was shocked to find it is lawful. Having a child or being a child is not a protected characteristic. It’s not like kicking someone out because they’re gay or a different race or something

Original poster
DaniTTC · 10/04/2024 13:34

Fiddlerdragon · 10/04/2024 13:30

Our landlord refused to renew our tenancy when he found out I’d had a baby. We were at the end of the 6 month contract but he initially said he’d be happy to continue with a rolling tenancy. He actually gave the reason for the eviction as ‘I don’t think my apartment is suitable for children’. The apartment was fine for children and we left it in better condition than we got it in. Not all people are utter arseholes though

That’s awful
my contract was a 6 month contract but I’m now on a rolling tenancy because I’ve been here 4 years my landlords really bad at replying to me for repairs but I go through an estate agent so never actually met or spoken to my actual landlord

OP posts:
HarraKiri · 10/04/2024 13:42

Yeah, if you've never even met or spoken to your landlord, then totally reasonable that you'd have no need to mention a child!

Don't worry about it - sounds like you are a great tenant and if the landlord sees that your child is already 13 months and you haven't missed a rent payment in that time, and the property is still in good condition, then you've proved that having a child doesn't affect anything.

Fiddlerdragon · 10/04/2024 13:49

EvangelicalAboutButteredToast · 10/04/2024 13:39

There’s loopholes though. You can’t technically get evicted when you’re pregnant and have a baby, but that only means you’re safe when you’re in the beginning or middle of a fixed term contract. As soon as that contract ends then they can ask you to leave for any reason. In my case I signed a 6 month fixed term contact when I was 3 months pregnant (which the landlord knew). He actually managed to time that perfectly as he hated kids in his apartment, so to get us in, he promised we would carry on on a rolling tenancy after the contract ended, but then evicted me with a 6 day old baby. The op is already on a rolling contact so he could have her out at any time (with the standard two months notice). He just has to give a different reason

YouveGotAFastCar · 10/04/2024 13:54

and if they do mention it tell the truth or say I look after my nephew sometimes

That wouldn't hold up as a lie, and then they'd be nervous you were lying to them, which would probably be a bigger push for them to get rid of you. You wouldn't want to let to someone who was deceiving you. Most people won't mind letting to a parent.

I wouldn't volunteer the information either though, you don't need to. It's fine that you have a child.

Original poster
DaniTTC · 10/04/2024 13:58

YouveGotAFastCar · 10/04/2024 13:54

and if they do mention it tell the truth or say I look after my nephew sometimes

That wouldn't hold up as a lie, and then they'd be nervous you were lying to them, which would probably be a bigger push for them to get rid of you. You wouldn't want to let to someone who was deceiving you. Most people won't mind letting to a parent.

I wouldn't volunteer the information either though, you don't need to. It's fine that you have a child.

Ok thank you if they mention it I think I’ll just say to them I thought the council already mentioned it to them about me having a child when I applied for council housing
and I didn’t see anything in the agreement about no children just no pets
i don’t want to be evicted but if worst comes to worse I’ll be put in temporary accommodation and will probably get a council place quicker

OP posts:
Boomer55 · 11/04/2024 17:05

If you have a young child, you won’t ever be “on the streets”. Councils have a legal obligation towards you,

judgementfail · 11/04/2024 20:47

He can just choose to not renew and ask you to leave if he wants to. He doesn't have to say 'because you have a child'.

Just style it out. Don't make up stuff about nephews. Don't offer information though. He could be fine with it.

I wouldn't want small children in my property (far more destructive than pets, sound travels between floors in our block ) and would select tenants on that basis but I wouldn't find a way to get rid of them if they went on to have them as long as the place wasn't being damaged and neighbours were happy.

shoppingshamed · 11/04/2024 20:55

Who is doing the inspection?

Is it likely that the landlord would have specifically instructed them in relation to a child? Do you have a reason to think the landlord has a no child rule?

Suppose they are a cot and ask if you have a child (pretty obvious as people tend not to have cots for other reasons) just say yes

To paraphrase, in this situation yes is a complete sentence

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