‘Mummy, are we homeless?’: I’m a single parent and it’s locking me out of the housing market

‘Mummy, are we homeless?’ 

It’s not a question any parent wants to hear, and it was a label I was desperately trying to avoid. But as my two sons and I snuggled up in one room of a shared Airbnb flat – our belongings packed away in a storage unit – I realised my littlest had a point. 

What led us there wasn’t a lack of effort or even finances. 

It was discrimination. 

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I had enquired about countless properties, attended as many viewings as I could and submitted multiple offers. But the answer was always the same: single mums, not welcome. 

While those in my single parent networks were unsurprised, these experiences remain largely invisible to those outside. That’s why Single Parent Rights – the campaign group I founded – launched a survey to uncover just how widespread this discrimination is. 

The findings, published last week in the report Locked Out: Single Parent Discrimination in the UK’s Rental Sector were stark. 

Nearly two-thirds (65%) of single parents reported they experienced discrimination when trying to rent. Some were denied viewings, others were subject to different rental terms and conditions, while others were charged higher rent or deposits. 

Often this discrimination wasn’t even hidden. One single mum reported how challenging it had been to find a property for her and her eight-year-old child, saying: “Agents were brutal, they will put the phone down hearing I’m a single parent.”

Another single mum-of-one said: “There seems to be a blanket ‘no’ when letting agents hear you’re a single parent.”

Their experiences, and those of countless others, mirrored my own. When I complained to one agency about their refusal to let me view two-bedroom properties, the head of lettings informed me they were merely saving me time because no one would want to rent to me. Without undertaking any financial checks or vetting process, they had already decided I was unsuitable based solely on my family structure. 

Even for those parents who secure a home, stability isn’t guaranteed. The research found that 17% of single parents had experienced a section 21 eviction, while 6% had been evicted illegally mid-contract. For many families these evictions uprooted children from all they had known and pushed parents further away from their workplaces and support networks. 

One single mum described how after being evicted she was moved to a hotel room miles from the community where she had lived for twenty years and the only place her child had called home. Only to later be moved to a hostel in another new area. The strain of managing it all alone led her to a nervous breakdown. 

The challenges facing single parents in rentals don’t end there. The research found that the growing gap between local housing allowance and actual rents hits single parents hardest. While the average national shortfall is £150 a month, for single parents this rises to £250. 

The financial consequences of this are extreme. Three-quarters of single parents in private rentals who are in receipt of universal credit are living in poverty. For two-parent families in the same situation the equivalent figure stands at 42%, highlighting how current systems disproportionately punish single-parent families. 

The recent Renters’ Rights Act offers some hope. The additional protections from discrimination for tenants in receipt of benefits or those with children may help in some cases. But by not explicitly naming single parents as a group protected under the act the law has overlooked the nature of single parent rental discrimination. 

Every single rental rejection I received was prior to any credit check or discussion of benefits, and many of the agents went on to rent the very same properties to two-parent families with children who were considered ‘a better fit’. Benefits and children were not the problem: my single parent status was – a status which is not yet protected by the act. 

Single parents are acutely aware of these legal oversights. That’s why 95% of respondents to our survey said they wanted stronger legal protections. 

No child should have to ask whether they are homeless because their parent has been locked out of the housing market. And no parent should have to accept poorer quality housing just to secure a roof over their child’s head. Change is possible, but it first requires understanding what single parent discrimination is. 

The Renters’ Rights Act allows for the secretary of state to expand the anti-discrimination protections to other groups. As change at the top is imminent, these powers must be used by the next secretary of state to protect all single parents from rental discrimination, alongside increasing the local housing allowance. Until then, single parent families will continue to be locked out of the UK’s rental market.

Ruth Talbot is the founder of Single Parent Rights. Her book, Singled Out: Single Parent Discrimination and What to do About it is out next year with Policy Press. 

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more. 

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