[HPFGU-OTChatter] Strange question of the month (bedrooms in a flat)

Neil Ward neilward at dircon.co.uk
Sun Dec 23 12:26:38 UTC 2001


Saitaina asked:

<< Okay, as an utterly un-cultured American I must pass this question of to
someone with more experiance with British Housing-  How many bedrooms can be
fit into a flat before it's a house?  It is like our American apartments
that go up to 4 bedrooms?  Or is it like a studio where it's all one giant
space save the bathroom? >>

I don't think it has to do with the number of bedrooms, although flats tend
to be smaller properties with 0-3 bedrooms (0 being a studio).  A flat is
part of a larger building; either a block or tower of similar residences, or
an old house that's been converted into several units.  To use technical
jargon, it's "a self-contained dwelling where a material part of that
dwelling lies above or below the remainder of the building in which it is
situated".  Another factor is that there is often a communal front entrance
(or entrances) to the building, with the doors to the individual flats
inside.  If a flat has its own front door, it's usually called a maisonette.

Houses, on the other hand, have their own front and back door and can be
detached, semi-detached (in pairs) or terraced (in rows), but they are
independent in the vertical direction.

I hope that helps.

Neil (who lives in a crumbling Victorian flat conversion)






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