landlord wants me to move out due to over crowding???

thefuturemrsjohnson

hi all, this is my first post, so please bare with me...

i am living in a 3 bedroom house with my 3 children, girl age 5, boy age 7, girl age 11. currently single mum on benefits, renting off a private landlord though a letting agency.

i am 4 months pregnant, partner hoping to move in before baby due in june, so will no longer be on benefits, called landlord to ok this with him, he agreed to him moving in, but then said i will have to move out due to overcrowding? he told me i cant have 3 girls in 1 room, if i have a boy, he can share with my son, right? but landlord said 'no, the little bedroom is too small for 2 children' ? id this up to him? bunkbeds would fit in there fine? shocked, i called the letting agency, who told me i cant have 4 children in a 3 bedroom house, as it is the law when it comes to private renting?? i never heard of this before, i know council renting dont have this as a law, yet the council wont house me, unless i move 20 miles away, not possible!!
so now i have to look for a 4 bedroom, which we cant afford, who can these days?? i know so many families in a 3 bedroom house with 4 children or more? the letting agency didnt help at all. just said by june i will have to look for another house. ( when baby born) i told them baby will share with me then, but no,, they wont have that either.

does anyone know about this? and what i can do? thankyou xxx
amanda

dawyldthing

can u have one of the living rooms and your kids have the upstairs rooms?

thegirlintheattic

I don't think there is a law that states how many children are allowed per bedroom, although the council can intervene if it is overcrowded (which would be dependent on size). Many housing associations and councils have rules on how many children can be expected to share one room - including the ages/sex of children. I think over 10s must only be with the same sex or something. I also don't think there is anything legally against the LL deciding how many people HE thinks the house can hold and refusing to allow any more than that number.

It sounds like he doesn't like the thought of having 2 adults and 4 kids in a 3 bed house, and is wanting rid of you. I personally think 3 kids in one bedroom is too much unless the room is massive, particularly at your eldest's age.

You could ask around 3 bed properties to see if any will take you or try to come to an agreement with your current LL - maybe your partner not moving in, whilst you look for another property be if 3 or 4 bed.

BitterAndTwisted

I suspect your landlord is not an experienced one and has misunderstood something vital. The agent is wrong and some of them are terrible bullsh!tters when they don't have the actual facts to hand. As a tenant you can have as many children as you like in as few bedrooms as you like. The only possible problem for the landlord that I can see is the greater wear-and-tear on his fixtures and fittings. Councils have guidelines about the number of bedrooms which are desirable for how many children of whatever sexes but one only has to talk to a family that has expanded exponentially and are seeking a larger LA property to know that this is an ideal, not a legal requirement.

n.b: I have neighbours who rent an LA one bedroomed flat. They have three teenage children, two boys and a girl. They applied for rehousing when their last child, their daughter was born. No dice. Wait until the child is five. no dice. Wait until the daughter is 13. No dice.

Have an informal chat with the landlord of you can, and find out why he has the viewpoint that he has expressed.

Em586

agree to ask around other 3 beds in the area if possible, and also to speak to your landlord again.

We're in a tiny 2 bed with 2 adults and 3 children (under 5) and haven't had anything said. We're also moving to another 2 bed soon (but with more space in general than the current house) and nothing has been said, even though the 3 children will share a room for another few years until we get a 3 bed.

BitterAndTwisted

Everything is negotiable if both parties have the will and can see something in it for each of them. It might mean a modest rent-increase, the splitting of the cost of worn carpeting. Almost anything.