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Original poster

Tenant wants to become a childminder. Can any landlords off advice ?

20 replies

HalestormRock · 06/09/2015 13:58

Hi,
Our tenant would like to become a childminder from the rented house. They are very good tenants and would would not like to lose them.
Are there any other landlords out there who have allowed this in their rental property ?
We have no issues with this going ahead in principle, but have no idea whether we would then be liable for accidents etc . Would our building insurance be compromised etc ...Can anyone advise please ?
Also, we also charge about £100 per week less than average for a property in this area as we have wanted to keep these good tenants - should we risk saying no and losing them or do you think they would still stay?

OP posts:
KissingFish · 06/09/2015 14:02

You have to notify your insurers but I don't think it increases your payments. The childminder will have her own liability insurance.

tribpot · 06/09/2015 14:11

My instinct says don't do it, but I think you would need to research this fully. My first thought was what would this mean in the case of some kind of maintenance problem with the house (say a burst pipe or something) that, however quickly you dealt with it, would mean she would not be able to operate her business for a number of days whilst it was being fixed. However, this article suggests that you can't prevent her from operating a business from your property. I would take proper legal advice on how to cover yourself, but given you are already charging £400 per month less than the market this might be a moment to say no and let events unfold.

TalkinPeace · 06/09/2015 14:27

I suspect they will have a hard time getting through the Ofsted requirements in a rented house

Original poster
HalestormRock · 06/09/2015 14:37

Hi all,
Firstly, can I apologise for error in my post. It is £100 per Month less not per week - sorry. Bit stressed !
All we have read so far does seem to indicate that we should say no.
tribpot - thank you for the link, will show DH when he gets back from the shops. Tenant is saying she needs an answer pretty much immediately which we obvs can't do until we have fully researched this.

OP posts:
tribpot · 06/09/2015 14:42

Okay, £100 a month is somewhat different. But why does the tenant want to know immediately? As Talkin says, there are plenty of other hoops for her to jump through, I think it's a bit off that she's expecting an instant answer on something this complicated from you. I would tell her it will take some time to research fully.

NickNacks · 06/09/2015 14:52

There's no problem from OFSTED woth cming from a rented house.

BerylStreep · 06/09/2015 14:59

What plans would she have in place to reimburse you for the additional wear & tear that there will be in the house? For example, toileting accidents on carpets, grubby hands along the walls, toys bashed against paintwork etc.

My instinct would also be to say no, but I don't know how that would stand legally.

Sunnyshores · 06/09/2015 15:07

You will need to check your insurance.

But even if they say yes, I would imagine there will be things that need to be done to the house before she gets the approvals she needs - for instance any glass panes in doors would need to be removed or made of toughened glass.

So even if you say yes to her, Id make it clear that you wont be paying for any work needed.

On the plus side, if the home is her business too, she is less likely to leave.

CookieMonsterIsOnADiet · 06/09/2015 15:18

I'd say no too, the wear and tear will be immense and it would take a lot of work before new tennants can move in. Not just from the numerous children all day every day but from changing glass to safety gates etc.

Tennants are easily replaced, better to have tennants who will cause the least damage than long term ones that will mean long term damage costs.

specialsubject · 06/09/2015 17:16

first, speak to your insurers and see if it is possible, and what they need done/what additional costs there could be.

then ask the tenant for a full written statement on what she needs to do to the house to pass her inspection, and how she will safeguard you from costs of damage. Once you've seen that, you can then decide.

cries of 'I want it now' are not the sign of someone able to run a business.

skyeskyeskye · 07/09/2015 12:55

I think you should ask for an extra deposit from her for wear and tear, like some people pay extra for pets and get an agreement drawn up that she makes good any changes she has had to make.

You also need to run it by your mortgage company and your insurance company so that you are clear who is liable in the event of any accidents arising from the property. I think that she would have to have PL insurance by law?

FluffyMcnuffy · 07/09/2015 13:02

If it were me I'd say yes but be increasing the rent to account for the increased wear and tear. I'd also make her pay for any extra safety related things that need doing (e.g. Reinforced glass)

jclm · 07/09/2015 14:30

I think childminders can get a grant to cover the costs of these changes to the house eg glass, safety gates , fence etc. I don't see childminding as different from a mum who has three or four young children, in relation to messing up the house. Usually childminders spend most of the time out at playgroups etc

wannaBe · 07/09/2015 14:39

I don't see the issue. if she had young children of her own she could easily have other young children coming or going all the time, or might have a large family and regularly look after other people's children for free and nobody would be able to do/say anything about that.

The issue would be liability insurance, of which she would have to have her own so wouldn't affect you either.

We're talking about children here not wanting to run a dog sitting service.

my xh's dp is a childminder and afaik ran her business from a rented house for several years before she moved in with xh.

specialsubject · 07/09/2015 15:30

hopefully there is no issue, and I'm all for making this kind of thing happen. But the rules are there for a reason and all the right boxes have to be ticked.

as I said, the proposed businesswoman needs to show she knows what she is about and has answers to all possible issues. It is a well-trodden path but she needs to tread it.

Original poster
HalestormRock · 07/09/2015 16:57

Well, an update.
We have spoken to our buildings insurance company and they say if we agreed to this then they would immediately void our policy. Have searched online to find another landlord policy that will allow this as a clause, and can't find any that will. Mortgage company, Natwest, are also saying no, because we can't guarantee that less than 20 % of the property's volume will be used (its quite a small house) for the 'business'.
Such a shame, as we were openminded about going ahead with this for her. However, as we cant get relevant buildings insurance, and the bank says no - then its out of our hands .
Guess we'll be looking for another tenant when their tenancy agreement ends .
Thank you to everyone for the comments and advice.

OP posts:
tribpot · 07/09/2015 17:45

Sounds reasonably straightforward; at least you have a quick answer for the tenant.

specialsubject · 07/09/2015 19:14

oh well. A shame, but that's that.

A shame all round as she will have to move and you will lose a good tenant!

Sunnyshores · 07/09/2015 19:53

she may not move as she will probably get the same answer from any prospective landlord

specialsubject · 07/09/2015 20:09

now that's a point!

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