In order to establish whether your accommodation is statutorily overcrowded we apply the room standards and space standards as defined under Part 10 of the Housing Act 1985. This is a government standard which is used by all local authorities throughout England.
These standards assume that:
- a dining room, lounge and kitchen/diners can be used for sleeping, so are classified as habitable rooms for the purpose of the standard
- adults of the same sex can share a room
- people over the age of 10 of the opposite sex should not share a room unless they are co-habiting or married
- a room of 110 sq ft or 10.2 sq m can be shared by two people
- a child under the age of one is not counted
- children between the ages of 1 to 10 are treated as 0.5 people
To calculate whether your accommodation is sufficient for your needs, we will take into consideration:
- ages of the occupants
- gender of the occupants
- size of the habitable rooms
This information will then determine how many people can share sleeping accommodation (the permitted number). The permitted number is calculated in units from 0 to 1 as follows:
- Children under 1 - 0 Units
- Children under 10 - 0.5 Units
- People over 10 - 1 Unit
The permitted number of people able to sleep in a room is as follows:
- 1 Room - 2 people
- 2 Rooms - 3 people
- 3 Rooms - 5 people
- 4 Rooms - 7.5 people
- 5 Rooms - 2 people per room
or by room size
- 50 to 70 sq ft/4.6 to 6.5 sq m - 0.5 people
- 70 to 89 sq ft/6.5 to 8.4 sq m - 1 person
- 90 to 100 sq ft/8.4 to 10.2 sq m - 1.5 people
- 110 sq ft/10.2 sq m or more - 2 people
Rooms under 50 sq ft/4.sq m are not counted.
Apply for an assessment
If after reading the above standards you think that your home is overcrowded you can ask for an assessment using our online form. An officer will then contact you within ten days to arrange for your assessment to be carried out.