Charnwood Borough Council - Leading in Leicestershire

OVERCROWDING

The Private Housing Section can help assess whether your property is overcrowded.

What is Overcrowding?

The legal definition of overcrowding is quite strict and although you may feel your property is too small in relation to the number of people who live there, it may not be classed as statutorily overcrowded.

In order to establish whether a property is statutorily overcrowded, the assessment will look at :

• If two people of the opposite sex have to share a bedroom, the accommodation will be classed as overcrowded if the people in question are NOT a married or co habiting couple or children under 10 years old.
• Rooms and the available space are measured following strict calculations laid out in the legislation. Rooms that are counted include living rooms and bedrooms. When the space and floor areas are being calculated, certain factors are considered. These include:
• Children under one years old are not counted
• Children under ten years old and over one count as half
• Rooms under 50 square feet are also ignored.
• As a general rule, it is safe to assume that in terms of the number of rooms and occupants, the following applies:

1. 1 room is suitable for 2 people
2. 2 rooms are suitable for 3 people
3. 3 rooms are suitable for 5 people
4. 4 rooms are suitable for 7.5 people
5. 5 or more rooms are suitable for 2 people per room.

• The floor areas of rooms also determine how many people can sleep in them. This is established on site visits. As a guide, a room measuring 6.5 square meters is suitable for one person and a room measuring 10.2 square meters is suitable for two people.

Is Overcrowding ever allowed?

There are certain circumstances when overcrowding can be allowed. These are generally:

• Natural growth (where a child has reached one of the ages specified above)
• Temporary – if someone stays in your home for a short time
• Licensed overcrowding (where you have permission from the Council)

If the property you live in is classed as overcrowded, you may need to move. This is more likely if you are a private tenant as you would not be able to extend the property.
If you are a tenant of social housing (housing association or council owned property) the owner of the property has a duty to rehouse you or you can request a transfer. However, as most authorities have waiting lists for re housing, you may have to wait for a long time before suitable accommodation becomes available.

If you have any further questions or enquiries about overcrowding, please contact us on the details listed below. Alternatively, you may wish to contact Shelter or other organisations list on the tenants webpage.

Contact Details

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