Do rentals not allow kids?!

[Anotherdayhere]

We are currently selling up our London flat as we got a great offer from a chain free buyer (having just had a chain fall through thanks to covid we thought we had to take it). Rather than wait for a house to come up we decided to rent in the area we hope to move to to put us in a good buying position. We have a 3 and 1 year old and so it’s important for us to be in the area next jan to apply for a school place, and I want the youngest settled in the nursery he will stay. I’ve been looking at rentals online and There is only one 3 bed at all on the market in the town we want, One!! and on enquiry they told me they don’t allow cats, dogs or children....is this normal?!! We have owned for the past 10 years or so and obviously didn’t have kids when we rented but this hadn’t even crossed my mind. Are we likely to come up against this a lot or is this an unusual situation?

I don't think this is normal
None of the rentals I've had asked anything about children and when I had a child they knew about it.

It's a standard clause in a lot of rental agreements. It was in mine until we came to sign it and the landlady crossed it out

Eek I hadn’t even factored in that we would find it difficult to find somewhere to rent...especially if of the ones which come up some may have clauses like that in! I mean I can definitely understand why in a way...I just hadn’t considered it.

A lot don't! I helped my cousin and her husband and baby look for a place a few years back and I there was almost nothing, I was really shocked. No idea why, but there should be a law against it as a huge proportion of young families can't afford to buy so will need to rent.

Yep I really struggled finding anywhere for me and my 1YO. The letting agents all said 'not family friendly'

I've never come across this but I'm not in London.

I found that having pets was more of an obstacle than children. We were in the same position- we’d sold and were looking for rental with one child and a dog and a cat. The only place in our area that would take us was a six bed. Total waste of space and money but we had to take it.

It's age discrimination as far as I'm concerned. Shouldn't be allowed.

I have never come across this. Been renting 10 years, child was 8 when first rented. This has never been asked by any landlords. Not in London though, so not sure of their rules.

We weren’t looking in London actually, we’re looking out in Hampshire. So bizzare.

law in London isn't different from anywhere else in the country, but it is a rental warzone due to massive demand. Hence full of shitholes renting for a fortune and a crap landlords paradise.

but in Hampshire?? That is surprising.

children don't generally get left at home to bark for hours, don't usually chew the carpets and are not left to excrete on the floors. You may get a bit of wall scribble but that's easily sorted. Why a landlord with a 3 bed would refuse children is beyond me.

We have seen this a lot as are looking to move. Quite a few places say no children. One potential place said cats were fine but asked if we had children as they weren't. She said she had too much damage with kids drawing all over walls and banging things. It was a flat though so not ideal for kids anyway.