Last month the Government urged landlords to be more open-minded about tenants’ requests to childmind in rented accommodation.
A fair stance, you might think, given the enormity of the childcare crisis. But so far it’s received backlash from landlords who feel their hands are tied by insurers and mortgage providers, or has been met with criticism from those within the childcare sector who think it’s yet another minor intervention unlikely to affect real change.
But within the tiney community, we believe this would be a vital reform. We’ve seen the scale of the issue and watched the door close on prospective childminders who would be extraordinary assets to our sector.
Sadly, an inability to obtain landlord permission is one of the most common reasons trainee childminders leave our registration process.
For those living in social housing, their landlord is their local authority (LA), so when we talk about landlord permission, we must remember we’re including the LAs who object to childminding.
Private landlords would likely feel less like scapegoats of the childcare crisis if we recognised that local authorities can be as much of a blockage for trainee childminders – so why let them off the hook?
It’s no wonder the process of getting permission is a massively overlooked obstacle. It’s a difficult task to add up all of those who receive a ‘no’ from their landlord or LA, especially if they then abandon plans to become registered.
The tragedy is, we simply don't know how many would-be childminders we're losing each year as a result of this unfair system. Hundreds, or perhaps thousands? It's an avoidable and deeply frustrating state of affairs.
We’ve seen landlord refusal take many forms, from concerns about noise, damage, insurance, or tenancy agreements.
Often it seems they are picturing a multi-room nursery with numerous staff members, without taking into account the strict adult-to-child ratios childminders operate under.
In our experience, landlord concerns spring from misconceptions that are easily addressed when a dialogue is opened. Many do not realise, for example, the high safeguarding standards childminders must meet, which include keeping the setting in good condition.
Nor do they often know that childminding does not change a property’s function and it remains a domestic residence, so it should not breach tenancy agreements or impact a mortgage.
Once these fears are resolved, many landlords are often glad to play a role in improving access to childcare.
Local authorities can be even harder to appease. Living in a two-bed property, for example, might automatically rule an applicant out in some regions, regardless of the size of the living space or how many children they intend to care for.
These decisions are often made without visiting a property or speaking directly with the applicant, leaving little space for a successful appeal.
When appeals are made, they can take months to process. In one instance, a local authority had rejected an application on the basis that congestion at pickup time would upset neighbours. Our trainee made the point that childminding offers flexible care, meaning children are almost always collected at staggered times. She also gathered written approval from each of her neighbours, but was told the issue could not be resolved.
In addition, the requirement to obtain landlord or LA permission disproportionally affects those living in more deprived areas and those who come from less affluent backgrounds.
Almost half of those who occupy social housing are in the bottom quintile of household income. It's deepening the attainment gap between disadvantaged children and their better off peers by stealth.
Homeownership should not be the deciding factor in whether an area has affordable childcare. Why should having your name on a deed make you more qualified as an early years educator?
So if we’re going to urge landlords to be more open-minded, we must do the same with local authorities. But we need to do it in a way that works for all parties – that means opening dialogues, addressing concerns and, crucially, dispelling myths.
After all, a typical childminding setting is no bigger than the average large family. At a time when parents are struggling to find affordable, high-quality childcare we cannot allow misconceptions or arbitrary decision-making to suppress the growth of our incredible sector.
