29th
Aug 2023
The government’s Children’s Minister Claire Coutinho has just written to PRS landlords in England asking them to consider changing what it considers restrictive clauses in tenancy agreements which is stopping childminders looking after children in their rented homes.
It says blanket bans in tenancy contracts and in BTL mortgage agreements of running a business in the rented property is a major reason stopping people from being able to register as childminders.
An industry association has slammed the government’s approach of attempting to make landlords responsible for the ongoing childcare predicament.
A spokesperson for the trade body, said : “No landlord wants to stand in the way of the provision of childcare, but the Government must recognise that housing providers are not the issue.
“The Government’s encouragement to landlords to ‘be open-minded’ is no-doubt well-meaning but fails entirely to acknowledge the very real issues facing the childcare industry or the legitimate concerns of housing providers.
“Mortgage lenders and insurers need to be more flexible in enabling landlords to allow childminders to operate from the properties they let. Tenancy deposits must also be allowed to reflect the greater risk of damage to properties being used for childminding.
“We will continue to work with the Government on the difficulties and barriers landlords face in enabling tenants to become childminders but refuse to accept the blame for systemic issues in another industry.”
Richard Merrick of PIMS, says: “So not only have landlords been made responsible to eke out illegal immigrants, the government now wants the sector to be accountable for the childminding crisis.
“The next step is telling landlords that despite increasing mortgage hikes landlords must help fight inflation by not increasing rents to help pay their inflated monthly payments. Perhaps the next directive for landlords will be they are only able to take on car driving tenants if they have EVs?”
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