Is it discriminatory to ask a pregnant tenant for proof of ability to pay the rent?

[BergamotJasmine]

My letting agent has just told me that the new tenant who has moved into our house said that she has just found she's pregnant. She's does not have a live-in partner and is the only signatory on the lease.

I'm concerned about her ability to pay the rent now as it was already close to 40% of her income and most jobs pay little maternity leave. Would it be discriminatory to ask her for some written assurance that she has maternity pay in her job and / or someone who can act as guarantor for the rent if her income is reduced? My agent said we're not allowed to ask for this but I feel if we can't have some guarantee from her, then my only choice is not to renew the lease in 4 months' time.

I know in a job you're not allowed to ask employees about their plans regarding pregnancy etc but does this apply to tenancies? I thought the landlord was entitled to ask for a guarantor or some financial information if the tenant's circumstances change e.g. loss of job etc.

You are allowed to ask. It's not the same as a job.

It sounds like she will be unable to pay the rent to be honest and the trouble is that you may have difficulty in removing her once she has the baby or once she is late pregnancy as courts would not support an eviction order for a heavily pregnant lady even if she wasn't paying the rent.

If she hasn't moved in, immediately tell her she can't have the flat and feel free to make up any excuse you like. If she has already moved in, then you have no choice but to wait until she runs into difficulty and at that point it could take you well over 6 months to evict her through the courts.

The agent is saying he isn't allowed to ask because as far as he is concerned, he has found a tenant and doesn't give two hoots that she isn't really suitable and will most likely default once her income falls on maternity leave.

From the fact you say you can give her notice in 4 months, I assume you've signed a 6 month AST? If so then that's a contract - you can't change your mind or decide to add in additional terms once it's signed.

You can give notice at 4 months for her to leave at 6 months. If she defaults payments before then you can take it through the courts/eviction route, but expect it to go very slowly (usual) and err on the side of caution (given her condition).

I don't know if you are "allowed" to do this, but as a LL myself I really don't think its something you should do.

If her income drops very low or disappears she will be eligible for housing benefit. There are also other benefits etc that she may well claim, so you have no reason to believe she will not be able to meet the rent.

WRT if she is going to turn into a no paying tenant from hell - no one knows, she is just as likely/unlikely to as everyone else and it is something that we all face.

IMO a mother will be less likely to risk the roof over her head than a young single girl.

If you really don't want to keep her as a tenant then serve notice for the end of her tenancy, and as a gesture of goodwill to give her a fighting chance, tell her asap so she can start looking for somewhere else before she is heavily pregnant.

After all this girl hasn't actually done anything wrong.

Not for the first time, everything Oreo said.

However, I wouldn't rely on her being informed about her benefit entitlement. As tactfully as you can, bring the subject up with her, or ask the letting agent to do so. She may well be distracted by moving house and not yet have thought about the options available to her, but it's imperative that she gets the process rolling if you're not to find yourself out of pocket.

Ask her for a guarantor.

You also need to think about getting a new letting agent. Yours has been exceptionally careless. No-one wants a benefit tenant if that isn't their target audience of renters. I'm also not happy that the rent is 40% of her income - the usual rule of thumb is 30%.

If you have signed an AST then make sure you are as gentle and tactful as possible in your dealings with her. I'm within an AST currently and if I was asked for a guarantor I'd be telling the agent (very politely) to bog off.

I think you're probably jumping the gun.

You were happy she could pay the rent from her income when you granted her the tenancy - yes?
As far as I know Statutory Maternity pay can be 90% of income so not such a drop and her employer may well have brilliant enhanced benefits.
You simply don't know what her arrangements are but are prepared to give her the boot at a pretty stressful and vulnerable time.
As someone else says there is a state benefits system too! She's still the same person you let to and you'd still get paid.

Leaving aside Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus ;) and all the innkeepers who put them out, another story comes to mind

In a war-torn country there's a military curfew and everybody must be indoors before 9pm.
It's 8.30pm and a man passes two soldiers on the street.
One soldier turns and shoots the man in the back.
The other says - what did you do that for? - it's only 8.30pm the curfew doesn't start until 9pm
The soldier replies - Yes, but I know where he lives and he'd never have got home in time.

The moral of the story is - you don't know what arrangements your pregnant tenant has in place - she may have £20k saved up in the bank, she may have a supportive partner/sugar daddy/whatever elsewhere, her parents may be willing to help her, her employer probably pays great maternity pay, she'll probably be back at work asap and on and on...

And if the worst comes to the worst - she'll get benefits - she won't have become a beer swilling, asbo chav overnight.

You liked her enough to let your flat to her once - be good and give her a break - and you might get it back one day.

Should have added that I don't know the legalities - I wouldn't have thought it's illegal to ask about her plans/arrangements to pay - and if she reveals that she won't be able to pay from her salary - well, I can't imagine it's illegal to evict her.

But from an ethical point of view - if she can pay or the benefits people will pay (and she may not need benefits) is it morally right to evict her?

As RCheshire points out, you cannot vary the terms of an AST without the consent of the tenant, so go on a charm offensive right now. It's essential that you work as a team to safeguard her tenancy and your rental income. Will housing benefit cover the full rent? If not, it really is in her own best interests to find a guarantor. She can get away with leaving you in arrears; but she won't be able to rent in the PRS again now that landlords are getting more careful about referencing.

Have you got rent guarantee insurance and legal expenses insurance?

Was your tenant properly credit checked? Were her employers' references checked? Was her previous landlord's reference checked? Were these done on the phone or in writing? You will need to get a 'feel' for your tenant's trustworthiness and financial stability before making any decisions to issue an s21.

There is a real danger that she won't move out at the end of the tenancy if the AST's expiry coincides with her last months of pregnancy. She has to be evicted in order to qualify for emergency housing. Serving an early s21 is a great way to antagonise a tenant for the duration of a tenancy, and as Oreo says, she may turn out to be model tenant.

But do keep those insurance premiums paid. Something tells me this won't end well, I'm afraid.

Thanks for the good advice. Believe me, I'm not exactly over the moon at the idea of having to serve notice to a single, pregnant tenant. I'm in a real quandary about it which is why I posted here.

I do agree with you, thisoldgirl, something tells me that this tenancy won't end well. The agent did say that she had good references from her employer and was credit-checked etc. And yes, how do I know she doesn't have financial help from her parents or her mother won't move in to take care of the baby while she goes back to work etc? But that's the point: I don't know and it seems I'm not allowed to ask.

There are other issues with the lease where she has modified the property without my consent (added a lock to the door!!!) and I'm currently in dispute with the agent for allowing that to happen. I am thinking I will ditch this letting agent and get a new one but I want the agent to settle the situation first and ensure no issues arise as a result.

It's all very well saying that we should be compassionate but I'm already subsidizing her to live there as the rent doesn't cover the mortgage. I'm not some evil landlord looking to make money, just someone with a lovely home who moved abroad at short notice and wanted someone to look after the house for me in my absence. I specifically said no to any DSS tenants as the house is part of a small community of homeowners and none of the houses have been rented out before. I would feel terrible for my neighbors if the wrong tenant moved in and we had conflict at the house. It sounds like a total mess in any case and I'm livid with the agent for allowing it to happen

I do have landlords legal insurance by the way - thankfully!

Regarding changing locks, what does your contract say?

Unless it explicitly says they are not allowed to change/install locks, then tenants are allowed to change the locks as part of their 'quiet and peaceful enjoyment of the property'. At least that was the steer I was given by a solicitor the last time I let a place out.

The tenant does not have to give the landlord a key, but have to allow access for repairs etc.

If the tenant does change the locks they must keep the old lock and refit before vacating. Obviously any failing/damage here can be deducted from the deposit.

The contract says that she's not allowed to make modifications to the property without my express consent in advance and she didn't seek consent for this - or for a number of other changes she has made.

Which is what raises my suspicions because she does know that she has to seek consent for changes in advance and has been reminded of that by the agent already as I asked him to do that and yet she still went ahead without asking. Why not just ask and provide us with a key?

It's good that you're taking the time to weigh it up carefully - when you say you're not allowed to ask her about her circumstances do you mean the agent says you can't inist on a guarantor as a new condition of the tenancy or do you mean the agent says you can't just talk to the tenant?
I suppose you may not have met her before if the tenant has done the letting - is that what you mean? Because if you have met her or have her phone number, I don't think it's illegal to phone her up and say very diplomatically what you're thinking about.

How do you know she's put a lock on the door? - You or the agent don't go round there checking the door, in breach of the tenant's right to quiet enjoyment - do you?

It's all very well saying that we should be compassionate but I'm already subsidizing her to live there as the rent doesn't cover the mortgage. I'm not some evil landlord looking to make money

This makes you sound incredibly naive (and arrogant). You're not subsidizing her - in fact she's subsidizing your mortgage.
There isn't a law which says rents are set at the amount of the mortgage payment.
If a novice landlord has a mortgage (that they chose) at too high an interest rate - then that's the foolish landlord's fault not the tenant's.
The rental market determins the rent NOT the size of your mortgage.

It does make you sound as though you're not clued up enough and/or easy to deal with as a landlord either for the agent or tenant - if you give the tenant as much notice as possible that you want your flat back she should be able to find a place - it's probably for the best - perhaps you shouldn't be a landlord.

Has she just changed the barrel? That is perfectly legal and she doesn't need to provide you with a key, just allow access when the legally required 24 hours of notice is given

Tbh, you sound like the typical accidental landlord, "subsidising" and "looking after my house for me". Whilst she pays rent it is her home, not yours, and unless she's paying less than the standard market rent for your size of property then you are not subsidising her. It is not the tenant's job to ensure your mortgage is covered, just that they pay their rent. If your letting expenses+interest are covered then you are making a profit because you will end up with a valuable asset which you can sell, or a permanent home to live in.

x-post!

Your tenant knows exactly what she's doing.

I seriously doubt she discovered her pregnancy shortly after moving in. You have pregnancy tests these days, she probably knew within days of her first missed period.

So she's gone about finding a nice home, knowing she can get benefits to pay for it. If the benefits don't cover the rent, she'll be re-housed at the council's expense. You'll never be able to pursue her for arrears because she won't have any money to pay you back. Threats of a CCJ won't matter, she'll be housed for free until that child is 18, it's not like she needs a landlord reference.

She's ignored various aspects of the tenancy agreement already. No communication. Massive alarm bells.

Everything suggests to me you've been played. Thank God you have landlord insurance.

You'll never be able to pursue her for arrears

There are no arrears!

I seriously doubt she discovered her pregnancy shortly after moving in. You have pregnancy tests these days, she probably knew within days of her first missed period.

And that should somehow disqualify her from having a home!

I think that definitely would be breaching discrimination law.

And opinions like Kat's were why we didn't tell our LL I was pregnant (until after we'd bought our own place and were giving notice). For all you know, she's hard working and just knows her rights wrt quiet enjoyment. Maybe like many tenants she has had this ignored in the past so now proactively changes the lock.

Look at it this way, if she's going to cling until forcibly evicted then you loose as soon as you serve eviction notice. If she can afford the rent and intends to follow the law then you will irritate a good tenant and have a void. Just ignore the pregancy!

What do you mean kk, 'she'll be housed for free until that child turns 18'.

Got a bit of a thing about single mothers possibly?

I think you need to be very careful. How do you know that she intends to keep this baby? She may be planning an adoption or many other possibilities.

I wouldn't worry too much about her adding a lock, would you not want the extra security if you were living alone, knowing other people (LL/agents/workmen) may have a key?

All in all, it sounds like being a landlord is probably not something you're suited too.

You've tried it and found out that other people like to live their own lives too and you're not happy that they don't prioritise your house and mortgage as the centre of their world.

It's been an experience for you - you've learnt something.

The best thing you could do would be to end the tenancy at the first legal opportunity, acting as professionally and ethically as possible.

I rented myself for a number of years before buying and know all about 'quiet enjoyment' etc. The lock was discovered when the letting agent went around to check some issues at the tenant's request because she wanted some things looked at, a light fitting, shed door etc.

Also, I'm not a novice landlord. I've rented out a property in a different country to the UK for years (have a bad habit of buying a property and then finding out shortly afterwards that I have to move abroad...!) and have had less hassle there in 8 years than this tenant has given me in the short time she's been in the house (as I said there have been other issues with this tenant). And that country has much more stringent rental laws than the UK.

My concerns about DSS are because, as I said, the house is part of a small development where no house has previously been rented out or is currently rented out. It's a small community with quite a few retired people. Either way, I don't need to justify my choice of tenant to anyone. It's my prerogative as the owner, really. I don't allow smokers either - so that makes me a smoking snob as well, I suppose.

Interesting that some of you are taking me to task me for 'judging' DSS recipients or my tenant while you're clearly happy to judge and make assumptions about landlords yourselves...

Well you certainly know how to be patronizing, vivandtom. Well done!

I rented myself for years and always treated the properties well. If we made modifications, we asked permission. I would never have changed a lock without checking first. My view while renting was that if I liked a property, I should maintain it well, pay the rent and give the landlord as little hassle as possible to make sure the lease would be renewed. I guess I have now indeed 'learned something': not all people are as considerate and responsible as we were when we were tenants.

Stop making stupid assumptions, please.

I'm sure you do take good care of your home Joyful. I would never assume that someone who had to receive benefits for whatever reason is going to trash the place.