Overcrowding and Minimum Bedroom Sizes
When granting a joint and several tenancy, with or without permitted occupiers, landlords commit an offence if they knowingly grant a tenancy that would result in overcrowding.
The minimum bedroom sizes for licensed properties are covered in the “Licensing of Private Rented Properties” section earlier.
Part X of the Housing Act 1985 is summarised in this section and applies to all dwellings.
Under the legislation, a dwelling is overcrowded if it contravenes:
- the room standard, or
- the space standard
The Room Standard
The room standard states that no bedroom or living room may accommodate two persons of the opposite sex unless they live together as spouses or civil partners. This excludes children under the age of 10.
The Space Standard
The space standard takes age into account: babies under 1 year are not counted, and children under 10 are counted as half a unit.
The permitted number of persons relating to the number of rooms available in the dwelling for sleeping purposes is whichever is the lower of:
- the number specified in Table I relating to the number of rooms available for sleeping purposes; and
- the aggregate for all such rooms of the numbers specified for each room by reference to the floor area specified in column 1 of Table II below.
| Number of rooms | Number of persons |
|---|---|
| 1 | 2 |
| 2 | 3 |
| 3 | 5 |
| 4 | 7½ |
| 5 or more | 2 for each room |
| Floor area of room | Number of persons |
|---|---|
| 110 sq. ft. or more | 2 |
| 90 sq. ft. or more but less than 110 sq. ft. | 1½ |
| 70 sq. ft. or more but less than 90 sq. ft. | 1 |
| 50 sq. ft. or more but less than 70 sq. ft. | ½ |
A landlord can be prosecuted for overcrowding if any of the following apply:
- the landlord or agent had reasonable cause to believe that the dwelling would become overcrowded
- the landlord or agent failed to make inquiries of the proposed occupier as to the number, age and sex of the persons who would be allowed to sleep in the dwelling
- notice is served on the landlord or agent by the local housing authority, and the landlord or agent fails to take such steps as are reasonable to secure the abatement of the overcrowding, including, if necessary, legal proceedings for possession of the dwelling
A suitable application for accommodation, completed by the prospective tenants and asking for details of all proposed occupiers, will be a helpful document, given the possibility of prosecution if inquiries were not made before the tenancy was granted.
An occupier can also be prosecuted if they cause or permit the dwelling to become overcrowded.