What’s the definition of a bedroom?
If you’re selling your home, you don’t want to market it as a three-bed when it should be a two-bed. The opposite is also true. The more ‘bedrooms’ your property has, the more desirable it is. This means it’s worth more on the market.
It doesn’t matter what you currently use the room for. Whether or not it’s got a bed, it’s a study or office, a dressing room, or simply for storage, you can most likely call all of these a ‘bedroom’ for marketing purposes.
However, it can be tricky to navigate. That’s because there’s no legal definition of a bedroom. RICS has gone some way to define it, but it’s broadly put down to a reasonable and fair personal assessment.
So, here’s what you can and can’t do when specifying how many bedrooms a property has.
How big does a bedroom need to be?
As we mentioned in the introduction, there’s no legal definition of a bedroom except to say, in general, ‘would or could someone put a bed in it?’
This statement also applies to the size and dimensions. A bedroom could be any size. For example, a bedroom in a private countryside mansion might easily be 25m2. In a small, terraced city house, there might be just enough room for a bed, a bedside table and a crammed-in chest of drawers. Both count as bedrooms and, if they were the only ones in the house (unlikely), both would be marketed as ‘one-bed’.
So, there’s one clear indication of a bedroom’s size based on these rules: it must be able to fit a bed. Again, that’s not a legal definition, but it can’t be reasonably expected to market a room as a bedroom when sleeping in it is impossible. Single beds are about 90cm wide and 190cm long. A small double is the same length but 120cm long.
A ‘bedroom’ should be big enough to fit one of these and have enough space to fit basic furniture and walk around.
Does a bedroom need a window?
By definition, no, but in reality, yes. We’ll explain what we mean.
A bedroom has no legal definition, as we’ve touched on. Therefore, in terms of its name, it doesn’t matter whether it has a window or not. You can call a room whatever you want.
However, all ‘habitable’ rooms must have a way of escape. This protects all occupants against fire risk and any other potential reasons to get out quickly. All rooms must also have a form of local ventilation.
In most cases, both these requirements can be satisfied by fully opening windows. It’s the simplest and most appealing way to make a bedroom legal, safe and healthy to be in. Alternatives to windows might include accessible skylights (someone must be able to ‘escape’ through them) or fire doors leading to a fire escape, paired with extractor fans. However, these are dark and unhappy ways to live, and most people wouldn’t be happy to sleep in a room like this. Thus, it’s not reasonable to call a room like this a bedroom.
How could I market a room that can’t be classified as a bedroom?
All reasonably sized rooms that aren’t the main living space can be classified as bedrooms. In all likelihood you can call most upstairs rooms that aren’t bathrooms, bedrooms.
If there’s a room in your house with no external walls and no windows, you can’t call it a bedroom. The same goes for tiny rooms that can’t fit a single bed. It doesn’t matter whether you’re selling, renting the home out, or looking to bring in a lodger.
There are alternatives, however. Instead of listing the room as a bedroom, you could go with ‘Studio’, ‘Office’, or ‘Den’. Your house could go on the market worded something like, ‘2-bed plus studio’.
As one final point to consider, get some quotes from contractors for installing a new window in an external wall. By doing so, you may be allowed to classify the room as a bedroom. This is likely to be pretty expensive, but it might pay for itself in terms of the value added to your home. No promises, but it’s certainly worth exploring.
GB Home Surveys are here to help
Our nationwide team of chartered surveyors at GB Home Surveys are here to help. Whether you’re buying or selling, we’re happy to come out and conduct a home survey.
If you’re wondering whether your property counts as a three-bed or two-bed, feel free to get in touch with us. We’re happy to answer all your queries, and we’ll give you a quick and timely response. Use the contact form below to drop over your message, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
If you have any further questions about home surveys or the legalities of a property’s physical condition when you’re selling it, don’t be afraid to ask. As well as the contact form, we can be reached via email, phone, and WhatsApp. Our details are on the Contact page.
