The National Residential Landlords Association is meeting with the Department of Education to consider how, if at all, private landlords can help with a childminding crisis.

The association says that over the last decade, the number of childminders in England and Wales has declined substantially.

Childminding agencies report that around one in five potential applicants are prevented from continuing an application because of problems gaining permission from a landlord. 

Landlords of course, do have a number of reason why they may refuse permission to use the property for childminding purposes.  Fair wear and tear may be a concern, or mortgage, leasehold or insurance conditions could potentially prevent a business from operating at the residence. 

However, childminders are required to maintain the property to a high standard and ensure it is safe for the children as part of their duties. Typically, they would also be long term tenants who may be willing to pay additional rent to cover any potential extra damage. 

Ben Beadle, NRLA chief executive, says: “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.”

Earlier this week Children’s Minister Claire Coutinho wrote to housing associations, social landlords and developers in England to urge them to review restrictive clauses in tenant contracts.

The number of childminders operating in England has more than halved over the past 10 years and the Department for Education says blanket bans in tenancy agreements on using a home for business purposes was one reason people were not signing up to be childminders.

The government says childminders living in leasehold properties were sometimes blocked by restrictive covenants, which say the properties cannot be used for business purposes. And it claims some renters also found their tenancy agreements prevented them from registering their business, or that their landlords’ mortgage agreements included restrictions from the lender.

Coutinho has told the BBC: “Too often prospective childminders are having the door slammed in their faces because they face a blanket ban on working from home. However, parents tell us time and again how much they value the flexibility and quality that childminders bring so we are making sure that we are supporting the workforce to deliver what parents need.”