Silly question, but when renting is it ok to use a lounge as a 2nd bedroom?

SurviveTomorrow

My best friend and I are looking to move out and save money by moving together, sharing rent without having to live with a stranger. We're both kinda shutins that wouldn't take advantage of a lounge and would rather have more personal space, and I'm really starting to think it would make much more sense to have 2 big bedrooms and no lounge, and then we'd just be able to hang out together in the former lounge at it's owner's convenience, but it could be locked for privacy when we're not hanging out and want some personal space.

I feel like people might point their noses up at the idea, but would it be against any typical rules? I'm not seeing any rules about number of occupants on any of the locations I'm viewing but I'm very new to this. Thanks in advance!

fed_up_and_stressed

What if the kitchen is off the lounge ? Could get awkward going through someones bedroom to make a brew ...

LadyMorticia

Fed up has a point about the kitchen thing. I'm a great tea lover and I'd hate to have to keep disturbing my roommate everytime I wanted a cuppa.

That aside though, I don't see anything wrong with it. Might get a bit crowded if you have visitors as there wouldn't be a 'social' space so to speak but I'm also a shutin so I do know where you're coming from.

As for rules, I don't think it's illegal and alot of Landlords set their own rules as to what they will allow i.e. no smokers, pets etc. Although, I have yet to see one stipulate that you can't use another room as a second bedroom.

ETA - Not sure if they'd charge more for rent though if you used the lounge as a second bedroom, as 2 bedroom properties tend to be more expensive, but I guess if it's not a purpose built bedroom then that might not count?

sparky130a

SurviveTomorrow wrote: »

My best friend and I are looking to move out and save money by moving together, sharing rent without having to live with a stranger. We're both kinda shutins that wouldn't take advantage of a lounge and would rather have more personal space, and I'm really starting to think it would make much more sense to have 2 big bedrooms and no lounge, and then we'd just be able to hang out together in the former lounge at it's owner's convenience, but it could be locked for privacy when we're not hanging out and want some personal space.

I feel like people might point their noses up at the idea, but would it be against any typical rules? I'm not seeing any rules about number of occupants on any of the locations I'm viewing but I'm very new to this. Thanks in advance!

That's almost a contradiction.

I guess there's no rules but no way would i want to do it. It may seem like a good idea now but i doubt the impractical nature of the arrangement would endure.

goodwithsaving

Don't undervalue having a lounge. You'd have to eat, use the laptop, watch television in your bedroom. You can't properly switch off if your bedroom becomes your living space, which impacts on quality of sleep.

agrinnall

goodwithsaving wrote: »

You can't properly switch off if your bedroom becomes your living space, which impacts on quality of sleep.

While it may not be ideal it's something that everyone who lives in a bedsit/studio flat puts up with and in my experience is not a significant problem.

Is the flat furnished or unfurnished? If furnished, what will you do with the furniture that is in the lounge? Are the two rooms big enough to distribute it between them, or would the LL remove it if you asked?

davidmcn

Perfectly normal in my experience for flats with a dining-size kitchen to use that as the only "public" room - certainly legal as that includes licensed HMOs and newbuild student accommodation, though I expect there are minimum floor area requirements involved.

G_M

The only 'rules' I can think of are

* the contract itself - and i've not seen a tenancy agreement that specified what individual rooms could/could not be used for

* overcrowding regulations - and I don't think 2 people with separate bedrooms but o living room would be classified as overcrowding

But see the Housing Health & Safety Rating System

HOW DOES THE LOCAL AUTHORITY IDENTIFY THE NEED FOR ACTION TO
DEAL WITH HAZARDS?

CROWDING AND SPACE
Includes all the hazards associated with lack of space and crowding. It takes into
account the psychological needs for both social interaction/privacy. It also looks at
the effects of crowding on space requirements for household activity.
It does not include any assessment of the provision of sanitary/kitchen facilities in
relation to the dwelling. These are looked at elsewhere (see Personal Hygiene/Food Safety, Profiles 16 and 17)
Health effects
Crowding and lack of space has been linked to psychological distress and various
mental disorders. It is also linked to increased heart rate, increased perspiration,
intolerance, inability to concentrate, hygiene risks, accidents and spread of
contagious disease.

beecher2

This used to be completely normal, I get that some people wouldn't do it but that doesn't mean it wouldn't work for the OP. Ideally would be good to have a kitchen with enough space to socialise in.

cloo

There's no rules about it, plenty of people do it to save money, it's just a matter of if you can live with it.


When I let my house, after a few viewings I realised I had to change the ad to express that it was an open plan lounge/kitchen opened into from the street, so not suitable to be used as a bedroom, as I realised a lot of the people looking were more than 2 bedroom's-worth of tenants!

Tammykitty

I would look for one with a decent size kitchen for socializing.


We lived in a 4 bed house once with a living room and a big kitchen with a sofa in it - could have easily made it a 5 bed.


I also had a one bed flat, with living room and kitchen, and huge hallway - with a bit of rearranging the hallway could have been used as the social area - with a sofa etc and the living room as a bedroom