How housing disaster punishes single mother and father, from intrusive inquiries to residing in vehicles
When Lucy Adams started looking to rent a flat, the last thing she expected was intrusive questions about her daughter’s father. “I would often get asked very personal and really intrusive questions from landlords and agents, that you wouldn’t even tell friends,” the 38-year-old lone parent from Witney, Oxon, says.
“They would even ask things about my daughter’s father. At the time because you’re so desperate and panicked you don’t think about it – but on reflection it was appalling. It was a draining process.” Lucy says she also faced financial discrimination because of being in receipt of benefits, and was often asked for six months rent in advance. Some landlords just refused to her let view their properties.
“A lot of the time I wasn’t even considered because it was one income,” she says. “If the rent is £1,000, they want you to be earning five times more, even though my housing allowance would have covered it. There was constant discrimination.” Lucy is just one of over 400 parents whose experiences appear in a new report, ‘Locked Out, Single Parent Discrimination in the UK Rental Sector’ released today.
In a survey of 412 single parents, almost two-thirds (65%) report discrimination when trying to rent – including being denied property viewings, charged higher deposits, and or refused due to being a single parent. The campaign group Single Parent Rights also says eviction is also a common threat: 17% of respondents reported being evicted at the end of a tenancy and 6% illegally evicted mid-contract.
The research also found child poverty rates for single parent renters in receipt of Universal Credit are almost twice as high as rates for children in two parent families (75% vs 42%) – and that 95% of single parents want to see greater legal protections for single parent families in the private rental sector.
Ruth Talbot, Founder of Single Parent Rights, the campaign group that conducted the research said: “Our research shows how single parents are bearing the brunt of the housing crisis. Discrimination from landlords, agents and government policy leaves too many struggling to secure a decent home. The government must address this by strengthening legal protections and raising the Local Housing Allowance in line with actual rents. Tackling one without the other will not succeed.”
As part of our investigation with Single Parent Rights, we also spoke to Nathan Caplan, a 48-year-old disabled single dad, from Colchester. Nathan has ME and Metabolic syndrome, meaning he accesses disability benefits. When his son was taking his GCSEs two years ago, his landlord was granted a Section 21, ‘no-fault’ eviction, which has now been outlawed by the government.
“The landlord was granted an Accelerated Possession Orders and the next stage was bailiffs,” Nathan says. “The local authority told me there was no temporary accommodation available and if you don’t find anywhere you’ll be sleeping in your car.” Nathan applied for social housing but also looked desperately for other properties. He says one agent hung up on him when he explained that his income came from both his salary and CMS and child benefit.
“I was working full-time at the time as a supporting housing officer for a charity and claiming benefits as a top-up, but even then the income wasn’t enough for a two-bed property,” he says. “A lot of landlords say I didn’t meet their income requirements. In six months, I viewed six properties and there were all sorts of issues, some landlords won’t take child maintenance into account, they wanted income only.”
Nathan managed to find a private rental flat but his health relapsed due to the physical stress, and he lost his job. He is paying £1,100 a month in rent, while he receives only £785 in LHA leaving him with a £315 gap to fill monthly. “I’m using my PIP to cover housing costs,” Nathan says. “The pressure falls on my son – who is on a gap year – to be my unpaid carer. The lack of social housing is pushing people into private housing, even though we’re eligible for social housing and landlords don’t want us.”
Shakeel became homeless when he separated from his partner. A freelance creative in Bristol, he suffers with his mental health, and has two children who live with him 50 per cent of the time. “It was a very heavy time,” he says. “I was trying to get into employment, and I didn’t have six months worth of rent. Many agents just never called back.
“If I didn’t have a sister then I don’t know what I would have done. She gave me a safe haven. But she is a widow with two children and her rent has doubled to £2,000 in five years. It is just outrageous. Nobody is taking this seriously. The moment someone owns a house they become so powerful. It is the most heartless thing you can do when you kick someone out.”
After a 12-month search, he now rents a room from a single dad. “At the moment, seeing the waiting lists, I don’t have any hope. If the Local Housing Allowance could just cover the rent that would be something, you’d still be living hand to mouth, but at least you could make it. Without that it’s just impossible.”
We also spoke to a survivor of domestic abuse from Surrey, who had managed to separate from her abusive ex-partner – only for the landlord to assume she would not be able to cover the rent. The mum-of-three receives disability benefits as she has a serious medical condition. She reached rock bottom when she was served with a Section 21 order while pregnant, and had to move home with family. She is waiting for temporary accommodation but there are already 70 families being housed locally in a Travelodge, she says.
“Every time we viewed a private rental and they found out I had a child, it went against us,” she says. “If the council had written off the loan which I took out with my abusive ex, I wouldn’t be in the situation I’m in today. We’re homeless and living with my parents. Rent prices alone at the moment make it impossible for single parents. Rent prices for a 2-bed property in Surrey is around £1,500 but my housing allowance would be for £1,300. It’s full stop when the landlord finds out you have children.”
A government spokesperson said: “Thanks to our Renters’ Rights Act it is now illegal to prevent tenants renting a property just because they are a single parent and landlords could be fined up to £7,000 if they do.
“This is alongside providing more support for families by boosting the local housing allowance and investing £39 billion to build more social and affordable homes.”
But Single Parent Rights say that single parents are still being made homeless by the gap between rent and Local Housing Allowance, the pernicious effect of the Benefit Cap, and lack of available social housing. And they say the Renters’ Rights Act needs enforcement.
Meanwhile, Lucy has just finally secured new social housing after four years of bidding. “Ironically, I would say single parents are the ideal tenants,” she told us. “We want our children to have a secure home environment and we want to be settled.”
