Renting a room to a single mother with 6yo daughter

RHemmings

I can see lots of advice up above. My only comment is that I really hope we aren't now in a world where a single parent with a child will find it extremely difficult to find somewhere to live because of how careful landlords have to be nowadays. 

ThisIsWeird

lincroft1710 said:

For this reason I think it is a bad idea. You will be not be able to stop them accessing whatever part of the house they want to nor stop any undesirable visitors/guests 

I presume there's nothing to prevent Gow from locking their bedroom door when they are away if they feel they need to?

If Gow trusts their friend's judgement on this recommendation, and is reassured when they meet up with this mum and child, this really shouldn't be of any greater risk than any other lodger. The responsibilities of a single mum will likely make her more reliable than the average lodger, and I suspect very much more appreciative too.

Agreed house rules, that's all.

Auti

I think I would also want to know why she needs new accommodation  as that may be relevant (cross ex partner, unpaid rent) or no fault of hers because life sucks sometimes. I think you should meet them both a couple of times to get a feel if you are happy to welcome them into your home.

FlyMeSomewhere79

ThisIsWeird said:

lincroft1710 said:

For this reason I think it is a bad idea. You will be not be able to stop them accessing whatever part of the house they want to nor stop any undesirable visitors/guests 

I presume there's nothing to prevent Gow from locking their bedroom door when they are away if they feel they need to?

If Gow trusts their friend's judgement on this recommendation, and is reassured when they meet up with this mum and child, this really shouldn't be of any greater risk than any other lodger. The responsibilities of a single mum will likely make her more reliable than the average lodger, and I suspect very much more appreciative too.

Agreed house rules, that's all.

I don't think it can be assumed that all single mothers are brilliant and responsible people, plenty aren't responsible! The OP needs to think long and hard about this and spend time getting to know her. What happens with any male partners or if she has a volatile ex partner. Does she work for a living or rely on benefits - a lot of homework needs to be done to make an informed decision. Last thing the OP needs is to come home and find her sat around drinking with her mates - she might be nothing like that bit the OP would be wise to make sure. 

propertyrental

FlyMeSomewhere79 said:

ThisIsWeird said:

lincroft1710 said:

For this reason I think it is a bad idea. You will be not be able to stop them accessing whatever part of the house they want to nor stop any undesirable visitors/guests 

I presume there's nothing to prevent Gow from locking their bedroom door when they are away if they feel they need to?

If Gow trusts their friend's judgement on this recommendation, and is reassured when they meet up with this mum and child, this really shouldn't be of any greater risk than any other lodger. The responsibilities of a single mum will likely make her more reliable than the average lodger, and I suspect very much more appreciative too.

Agreed house rules, that's all.

I don't think it can be assumed that all single mothers are brilliant and responsible people, plenty aren't responsible! The OP needs to think long and hard about this and spend time getting to know her. What happens with any male partners or if she has a volatile ex partner. Does she work for a living or rely on benefits - a lot of homework needs to be done to make an informed decision. Last thing the OP needs is to come home and find her sat around drinking with her mates - she might be nothing like that bit the OP would be wise to make sure. 

I agree with most of the above, but " find her sat around drinking with her mates" is by no means the worst possible scenrio.......!

Debbie9009

Another thing to consider is that a six year old may want to have friends round to play, would you be happy with this, bearing in groups of children can get a bit silly, and spill things, knock things over etc.  Will you be happy for them to have full run of the house.  I would want to check what Mum’s expectations are and if they match yours.

Jami74

This woman and her child must surely be in a fairly dire situation if they are having to try and find a room in a house to rent. If they've not had a place to call their own, the child might be used to not having friends round, knows to be quiet and not touch things that aren't hers. And much as it would be nice for all six year olds to have their own room filled with toys, in some situations a warm bed with Mum is good enough. 

Bookworm105

Grumpy_chap said:

Bookworm105 said:

the annual gas safe check is not a should, it is a legal must 

Gas safe check has been mentioned a couple of times in this thread.
Is that definitely required, even though the OP is only considering a lodger?  This is not a tenancy.

yes it is a legal requirement for landlords with lodgers as well as tenants 
see link in earlier post 

Bookworm105

_Penny_Dreadful said:

Bookworm105 said:

unless you have a very special size bedroom with 2 beds in it I'd be amazed at the idea of a 6 year old sleeping in the same room as their mother.

the annual gas safe check is not a should, it is a legal must 

Residential landlords are also required by law to have a GSC if there are gas appliances in the property. 

https://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/landlords/safetycheckswho.htm

which is what I said, must means must 
a previous post merely said should 

user1977

Brie said:

So any books like Ulysses or Fifty Shades on the top shelf 

Would be quite an advanced 6yo to be flicking through either of those!