Bedroom Tax

bestpud

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

We do too....and a dining room that you have to go through to get to everywhere else in the house....but the front sitting room could accommodate a lodger if necessary and the dining room could become a sitting room.

In fact, when we first moved back from Spain, we had the front sitting room as our bedroom (sofa bed), until our son bought an flat and moved into it with his girlfriend and the lodger went back to his parents'.

People who say it can't be done (unless of course they have a disability) are just making excuses half the time.

Don't get me wrong - I'm puzzled about the OP's house but I'm far from negative about utilising space!

We've had various scenarios over the years.

We started out in a single bedsit and single bed.

At one time we were on a double mattress, on the floor, in a room that only just fitted it. We removed the door as we couldn't open it and just kind of flopped into bed. The two children were in the other room with a chest of drawers (just) and we had clothes in a kitchen cupboard.

In this house, the dining room was a bedroom when all three children were at home.

Needs must and all that!

But the OP's situation is the first I've come across.

bestpud

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

We have a terraced house with a downstairs bathroom and as I have explained to butler helen, you have to go through the dining room to get to everywhere else in the house, but this room could become a sitting room and the existing sitting room used as a bedroom if necessary, and we have actually done this for a while.

So, does the number if bedrooms include the second reception room in your house too?

Would you call it a 3 bedroom house if there is 2 upstairs?

bestpud

butler_helen wrote: »

We also have one of those :rotfl:

It's a massive pain the bum when you need the loo in the night - I might move my bedroom to the living room

I used to get my husband up if I needed the loo when we had a downstairs toilet - used to freak myself out something terrible!

seven-day-weekend

bestpud wrote: »

So, does the number if bedrooms include the second reception room in your house too?

Would you call it a 3 bedroom house if there is 2 upstairs?

There are three bedrooms upstairs as we have a loft room, and I would describe it as a three bedroomed house, but if I was broke and needed more income, I could if necessary rent out the front sitting room as a bedroom to a lodger.

There are actually only me and my husband living there now, but there have been times when all the bedrooms (including the downstairs room) have been occupied.

pipkin71

bestpud wrote: »

At one time we were on a double mattress, on the floor, in a room that only just fitted it. We removed the door as we couldn't open it and just kind of flopped into bed.

We've taken doors off two of the bedrooms in order to ensure things fit.

It is all about utilising space.

In an ideal world, I wouldn't want lodgers but, where needs must, it's something that needs to be considered rather than dismissed because of the various issues that have been suggested.

LunaLady

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

We do too....and a dining room that you have to go through to get to everywhere else in the house....but the front sitting room could accommodate a lodger if necessary and the dining room could become a sitting room.

Your house sounds like ours, although our front room is self contained and comes off the main hall, the dining room has the door to the stairs and leads to the kitchen and bathroom.

The downside of this house is that to get to the childrens bedrooms you have to walk through the others, so to get to bedroom 3 you have to walk through bedrooms 1 and 2.

seven-day-weekend

Our front room is self contained too.... You come through the front door (which is actually on the side of the house) into a small hall and have the sitting room on your left and the dining room on your right, cellar straight in front of you. You have to go through the dining room to get to the stairs, the kitchen and the bathroom. All three of our bedrooms are self-contained.

So we could use all three bedrooms and the front sitting room to sleep in, and have done so in the past.

bestpud

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

There are three bedrooms upstairs as we have a loft room, and I would describe it as a three bedroomed house, but if I was broke and needed more income, I could if necessary rent out the front sitting room as a bedroom to a lodger.

There are actually only me and my husband living there now, but there have been times when all the bedrooms (including the downstairs room) have been occupied.

Exactly!

You don't have a '4 bedroom house' just because you have a separate dining room.

My point has nothing to do with lodgers or anything practical at all. For some reason, you are assuming I'm saying it should not be USED as a bedroom but that's not my point at all.

My point is, it is very unusual to call the dining room a bedroom on paper.

If the OP's home was for sale, it would be described as a 2 bed and if it was let in these parts, it would be let as a 2 bed. It would not be described as a 3 bed.

Nual

Surely the OP is talking about a dormer bungalow? My friend lived in one when I was a kid. Parents bedroom downstairs, and bathroom, 2 small bedrooms upstairs for her and her brother.

Dunroamin

bestpud wrote: »

Exactly!

You don't have a '4 bedroom house' just because you have a separate dining room.

My point has nothing to do with lodgers or anything practical at all. For some reason, you are assuming I'm saying it should not be USED as a bedroom but that's not my point at all.

My point is, it is very unusual to call the dining room a bedroom on paper.

If the OP's home was for sale, it would be described as a 2 bed and if it was let in these parts, it would be let as a 2 bed. It would not be described as a 3 bed.

Surely a room is only defined by the way you use it?

If you put a table and chairs in it, it's a dining room: if you put a bed in it, it's a bedroom: if you put a desk and bookshelves in it, it's a home office or study.

We moved our kitchen into the back half of a through living room so we now call the old kitchen (when we don't call it "the old kitchen":o) the summer room.

ETA
When we sell it, we'll market it as 2/3 bedrooms.