Living in overcrowded accommodation can be bad for your health and safety. Your home may be overcrowded if it does not provide a separate bedroom for each:
- couple;
- single adult aged 21+;
- Two young people of the same sex aged 10-20;
- Two children under 10
If your home is overcrowded:
- Is there an adult in the home who could move elsewhere? See Finding somewhere to live.
- If you own your home and you have equity in the property you may be able to borrow money to create the extra space you need. See Improving your Home
- Could you rent a bigger home in the private sector? If you need Housing Benefit you are entitled to one bedroom for every: couple, single adult aged 16+, two children under 10, two children of the same sex aged 10-15, and any other child. See Housing Benefit and Finding somewhere to live
- You may be able to rent from a Housing Association. As a household with a shortage of bedrooms you will have priority for housing so it's worth applying - see Apply for Housing. However there are a limited number of homes with 4 or more bedrooms.
- If you live in a shared home with other households and you think it is overcrowded you can ask the Council to assess whether this is a health and safety hazard or statutory overcrowding. If it is then the Council can require the owner to take action. Contact Housing Standards on 01283 508680.
- For advice about looking for alternative housing speak to the Council's Housing Options service on (01283) 508120.