Splitting a bedroom into 2 bedrooms

premiumz

Hi all,
I have a question regarding planning permission for turning a 4 bed house into a 5 bed house.
One of the bedrooms is massive and has a huge en suite. I would like to know if I scrapped the en suite and used that room plus some of the bedroom to turn it into a 5th bedroom, would I need planning permission?
If I went to sell the house, would I need anything in order for it to be counted as a bedroom and not a study for example?
I ask because, I remember someone who converted their loft into a bedroom but didn't get planning permission and they couldn't advertise their property calling it an extra bedroom and it instead was just a loft or study or something. Can't really remember, it's going back quite some years.

Cheers

DevilDamo

You would not require Planning or Building Regulations approval.

Will this new Bedroom have its own door accessed via the Landing? Will it also have a window for both light, ventilation and fire escape purposes?

premiumz

DevilDamo said:

You would not require Planning or Building Regulations approval.

Will this new Bedroom have its own door accessed via the Landing? Will it also have a window for both light, ventilation and fire escape purposes?

Hello,
Yes all bedrooms would have access via the landing and all bedrooms will have their own windows.

So with this in mind, I could turn a 4 bedrooms house into a 5 bedroom house without any permission and in the future I could advertise the property as a 5 bedroom house?

Is there any kind of minimum feet a bedroom must be with relation to how big the upstairs of a house is in a whole?
It wouldn't be a box room but I'd just like to know how far into the other bedroom I would need to go if there was a minimum requirement.

Ectophile

A single bedroom needs to be at least 50 square feet, unless it's only going to be used by a child. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1985/68/section/326

daivid

Ectophile said:

A single bedroom needs to be at least 50 square feet, unless it's only going to be used by a child. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1985/68/section/326

I'd be happy if someone clearly explained where/why I am wrong but that act pertains to social housing (Local authority or approved social housing provider). As the owner presumably is a private owner then the act does not apply. The act is also often misquoted (again happy to be wrong) as it is not prescriptive as to who sleeps in which room, rather it is to work out the total number of occupants based on floor sizes of suitable rooms including any living rooms (effectively in a typical home any room with a window, of the minimum size, and not a bathroom or kitchen).

Mickey666

What size room are we talking about here?

Is the intention just to be able to say the house has five bedrooms or is there an immediate need for an extra bedroom?  I ask because I've always been put off by houses where things have been crammed into spaces.  A particular pet hate are poky en-suites where the shower cubicle is so small that you can't wash your hair without banging elbows on the sides of the cubicle and bedrooms where you have to shuffle around a superking-sized bed because the walls are too close!    A 5-bed house with poky rooms would actually be off-putting for me and I'd much prefer a 4-bed house with decent size rooms.  But hey, I may not be a typical buyer.  Worth thinking about though.

Rosa_Damascena

Mickey666 said:

What size room are we talking about here?

Is the intention just to be able to say the house has five bedrooms or is there an immediate need for an extra bedroom?  I ask because I've always been put off by houses where things have been crammed into spaces.  A particular pet hate are poky en-suites where the shower cubicle is so small that you can't wash your hair without banging elbows on the sides of the cubicle and bedrooms where you have to shuffle around a superking-sized bed because the walls are too close!    A 5-bed house with poky rooms would actually be off-putting for me and I'd much prefer a 4-bed house with decent size rooms.  But hey, I may not be a typical buyer.  Worth thinking about though.

That is the issue - the ability to sell. If it was an extension requiring PP a room without access to natural light would not be permitted. If it's not well planned you will lose out in the long run.

DevilDamo

Although I haven’t yet found anything that relates to minimum bedroom sizes, I do remember being involved with a development where we were providing an additional small bedroom. I was worried this extra bedroom would impact the off-street parking requirements imposed by the LPA. However, the Planning Officer in that situation said that as the proposed bedroom was under 7sq.m, it would not be classed as a bedroom and therefore affect the parking requirements. Not sure how or where that came from but I do remember it being quoted.

weeg

DevilDamo said:

You would not require Planning or Building Regulations approval.

Will this new Bedroom have its own door accessed via the Landing? Will it also have a window for both light, ventilation and fire escape purposes?

You might require building regulations approval if it is a loadbearing wall.

Mickey666

It's unlikely to be a loadbearing wall if it's being added to divide an existing room

gwynlas

You would devalue the house unless you have another ensuite. Few buyers would want a house with five bedroooms and only one upstairs bathroom