'They didn’t have any privacy; I didn’t have any privacy. It was just exhausting.”
This is precisely why Claire decided not to follow up on the comment made by the letting agent, who said it could seem “dodgy” that a single mother is able to pay rent upfront. “I was just exhausted with the whole situation and just didn't feel the energy or the resources to do it at that point,” she says. “I got to the point where I was just kind of done.”
But even when they aren’t directly discriminated against, landlords are able to financially exclude single mums, who are less likely to have disposable income. “There's nothing stopping agents from asking people to outbid each other and offer more than the asking price,” explains Cullum. “In a similar vein, agents or landlords can ask for several months rent upfront. As a single mother, you’re less likely to have that money, so that’s another kind of direct discrimination.
But the trauma of her experience hasn’t gone away. Although she’s been in her home for more than a year now, Claire still worries that she’ll end up in the same position again. “I feel very unstable,” she says. “I wouldn’t want to put the kids through that again.” Ultimately, this stigma is compounded by a highly competitive private rental sector – one that is failing the people who rely on it.
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