How many people should live in my property? How many people is considered overcrowding and how to count tenants? I hope my article will make it clear for you as the situation is quite simple.
This article is based on the Housing Act 1985.
I Suspect Overcrowding In My Property. How Can I Check?
Defining Overcrowding in Property
Accordingly, to the Housing Act, overcrowding is when too many people sleep in the property. That can be checked following one of two standards – room standard or space standard.
What is the room standard?
The room standard considers all spaces that could be potentially used for sleeping purposes such as bedrooms and living rooms, provided the room is bigger than 50 square feet (4.64 square meters). Meaning that when checking there is room for all potential residents you can take into consideration both types of rooms when checking for overcrowding.
What is the space standard?
The space standard considers the square size of the property in comparison to how many people sleep there. Meaning your calculation should be based on the square footage of your property.
What else is considered when checking the property for overcrowding?
It is quite straightforward but there are a few things that you have to have in mind while deciding whether you can allow X people in your property.
So, the things you should have in mind are:
- Age,
- Gender
- The relation of these people.
How to count people in the property?
- Firstly, let’s start with the youngest. Babies that are less than one year old do not add to the headcount.
- Children from age of one year to ten years old are considered as 0.5 persons when checking headcount.
- All people above 10 years old are counted as 1.
In terms of gender – people of the opposite sex cannot stay in the same room unless they are under 10 years old or are in a relationship.
So, two people who are over ten and are of the opposite sex in one room is considered overcrowding.
How many people can stay in the property following the room standard?
- 1 room – 2 people (for example: 2 adults)
- 2 rooms – 3 people (for example: 2 adults and 2 children of age less than 10 years old)
- 3 rooms – 5 people (for example: 2 adults, 2 children younger than 10 years old and a teenager)
- 4 rooms – 7.5 people (for example: 4 adults, 2 teenagers and a child who is over 10 yours old with a child who is under 10 years old and are the same gender)
How many people can stay in the property following the space standard?
- Rooms below 50 square feet (4.6 square meters) are not considered
- Rooms in between 50 to 69 square feet (4.6 to 6.4 square meters) – 0.5 person (a child younger than 10 years old)
- Rooms in between 70 to 89 square feet (6.5 to 8.3 square meters) – 1 person (two children younger than 10 or one person above 10 years old)
- Rooms in between 90 to 109 square feet (8.4 – 10.1 square meters) – 1.5 person (a child who is above 10 years old with a child who is below 10)
- Rooms above 110 square feet (10.2 square meters) – 2 people. (2 people who are over 10 years old).
Any number of people that exceeds the above is considered overcrowding.
I Still Need Some Help!
If you are still unsure how many people can stay in your place so there is no overcrowding, then it is always best to use professional help.
Agents do deal with this daily so their experience may help you the most. In case you require advice feel free to contact us and we will gladly provide a solution to your quandary.
