DS (16) wants to move out

[GentleOliveFatball]

Hello, my 16 year old son wants to move out and rent a house with a friend (who is 18) They are both responsible and my son has been keen to move out for a while. (We get along fine, but our home is very small and now he's getting older I think he struggles with not having much of his own space/space for when friends visit.)
I trust both my son and his friend, they have spent months researching and saving money. Between them they can cover rent, food, bills etc for a small two bedroom semi-detached house, walking distance from where they both work.

However I'm worried that landlords will not rent to them because my son is only 16. I don't mind signing the tenancy agreement if I have to, however I don't know if I can since I won't be living there?

My son is still only looking, and I'm aware I must do more of my own research however any advice would be appreciated.
We live in Scotland by the way.
Thank you!

How much is the rent, how much does he earn? I left home at 16, many years ago. The number of sticky situations I ended up in still sends shivers down my spine!

Try to encourage waiting as close to 18 as possible

Of course there is. If he works full time then he can afford half rent (maybe not in every area of the UK) many places pay adult NMW to their full time workers.

It is extremely unlikely that a sixteen year old can sign a credit agreement or contract, even in Scotland, at this age you are legally still considered to be a minor. Therefore you can not hold a credit card etc. There is a good reason for that, most children of this age do not have the capacity to understand what they are signing, their legal obligations for a year and will require a guarantor as a bare minimum.

Encourage your son to broaden his horizons in a different way.

I would be very concerned about county lines, drug dealing, other reasons for the rush to leave if he is in a loving and secure family unit.

My DD moved out with her partner at 16. They both lived with us for a few months in Lockdown and it was a bit of a squeeze in the house. She is still doing well and we have a good, supportive relationship with her.
We were guarantors for the rent and transferred her £100 a week to cover rent and bills while she did A Levels.
We took them grocery shopping every week and met up for coffees and dinners regularly.
Once she had a full time job she took over responsibility for rent and bills, and put her name on the tenancy.
She's now 20 and living a great independent life, and is glad that we allowed her the freedom to live independently.

Well can he afford rent? What does he do for a job and how much does he earn? That would be my starting point. Let’s do the calculations!

He'd be better off staying at home and saving his wages for a house deposit rather than paying rent.

Certainly 20 years ago 16yos did rent rooms in HMOs, I went to college at 16 in a city in a rural area and a few kids in my course had moved on their own to the city for college and were renting (non student accommodation). So it must be possible, as his friend is older possibly his friend could get a tenancy agreement in his name - though he's be daft as then he'd be liable for all the rent if your son walked away. Have to say I think they would be bottom of the list of any landlord's preferred tenants.

I work with teens - this is a terrible idea. Even lovely and responsible kids could be targeted by criminal gangs looking for places to store cash and drugs.

it’s a huge risk.

Education, employment or training.

As for it being illegal to rent under 18, care leavers are normally in their own place at 16.

He probably won't get a tenancy tbh but my brother moved out the day he left school.........things were a little easier over 30 years ago and it wasn't that uncommon. Him and his mates all went onto uni, good jobs etc. I don't think it's a bad thing at all just much harder now and harder to achieve.
I'd be supportive but ffs don't agree to be guarantor. I wouldn't do that for anyone.

I think it’s fine.

i rent to a very accomplished 16 year engineer apprentice.

he is now 18 years old and is excellent. I think his apprenticeship is 3 years. He came from frost home and I got references from his work.

It might be worth ringing somewhere like Shelter Scotland or similar who should be able to tell you the accurate legal position for a 16 year old renting. For example: 'You can apply for council housing or social housing anywhere in Scotland if you're aged 16 or over. You can apply no matter your income.' Private renting should also be possible, especially with a parental guarantor.

MN tends to be oblivious to the fact that Scotland is a separate country, with a distinct legal system. Plus, folks on here do seem to mollycoddle their kids at home until their mid twenties.

Well done on raising a capable and independent young person. Parenting as it's supposed to be done!

😂

She was living with a partner at 16? God that's so sad

16 yo can rent however I don't know the rules around Scotland or general private rental sector.

But many care leavers rent from 16 as fostering only goes up to that age.

Indeed. In Scotland, Wales and NI you can leave at 16. OP is in Scotland , where, if you turn 16 between 1 March and 30 September, you can leave school after 31 May of that year. If you turn 16 between 1 October and the end of February you can leave at the start of the Christmas holidays in that school year.

https://www.gov.uk/know-when-you-can-leave-school

As an aside, PPs are confused here and try to overgeneralise English rules (I see it a lot). In England, you can leave school on the last Friday in June if you’ll be 16 by the end of the summer holidays. However, you must then do one of the following until you’re 18:

• stay in full-time education, for example at a college
• start an apprenticeship
• spend 20 hours or more a week working or volunteering, while in part-time education or training

So....in a way. There is a requirement to be in education or training (including apprenticeships) until 18. You can't do nothing.

She was living with a partner at 16? God that's so sad

Totally agree.

Ime no happy, well adjusted 16 year who gets on just fabulously with their parents is desperate to move out.

Dh moved out at 16. I'm 100% certain that if asked, his mum would bang on about how they got on great and he was just always such an independent person. Dh would tell you a somewhat different story about his childhood and why he was desperate to leave.

@Flubadubba maybe MN need to get away from the assumption everyone lives in England, it's quite an arrogant/ignorant attitude.
I'm in Scotland and the amount of PPs who declare surprise at different rules in different countries is ridiculous.
Dont start me on the very odd ideas most have about Scotland.

It’s astonishing you not only allowed her to move out but paid for her to do so. At 16!

This is an age where children should be able to explore, develop their identities and interests, build up a strong skill set and start to explore the world independently. Travel, go to concerts, have fun. Your dd may well come to regret trading that all away with your blessing to play house and be saddled with a life time of bill paying.

How bad does your home life need to be to even consider this as a school leaver?!

What I find somewhat amusing, in a sort of grim way, is that another thread was bemoaning the ill treatment of the 18 year old in Dubai. Apparently despite being an adult throughout the UK his brain wasn't sufficiently developed to consider that laws might be different in a different country, there was much sympathy for him as clearly both parties had got carried away. Lots of comments about how the human brain doesn't stop maturing till 25.
But a 16 year old leaving home and privately renting will be fine!

Let the 18 year old sign the lease and then your son can just transfer his half of the rent to his friend to pay it all. If the 18 year old doesn’t pay, your son can just leave.

Good for him working and feeling ready to transition into adult life!

Blimey-how much does he earn and what would his rent/bills be?

This would be my solution. I moved out by 16. Was the right decision for me.

@Artistbythewater she still travels and hasn't missed out on any of the "formative experiences" of her peers, thanks for your concern though.
I posted to let OP know from my personal experience that it can work out, and wasn't expecting to be immediately attacked for supporting my DD's choices.
There isn't a "right age" to live independently, and DD was ready for it at 16, DS lived at home until he was 21 when he was ready so it evened out.

I am not sure about Scotland but in England he certainly couldn't sign a Tenancy agreement, the 18 year old could and then have your son as a permitted occupier but not many LL's would want that set up I imagine and with the lack of rental properties around in general they might struggle