What age are brothers and sisters supposed to stop sharing bedrooms?

[McDreamy]

Is it advice or law?

[Anna8888]

There is no law - brothers and sisters can share rooms right through childhood until they leave home.

[nooka]

It's only relevant for decisions about how many bedrooms for social housing, or if you are fostering/adopting. Otherwise you may arrange your family in whatever rooms you (or they) choose.

[Mercy]

afaik the advice is 9/10.

But I don't think there is a law (our neighbours were refused planning permission to convert their loft by which time the dc were about 12 and 16)

[Buckets]

Housing Assocs and Councils don't class it as needing another room unless one is over 12 and there is more than a 5yr age gap.

[danceontherun]

When you start loosing your brain because of the arguing!

[LadyOfWaffleIsScaryEnough]

I always thought there was a law...

[ghosty]

We are thinking of putting our DS and DD together - He is 8 (nearly 9) and she is 4 (nearly 5). I don't see why it should be a problem for a year or two surely?

The reasons are, we live in a rented house (so won't be here forever) and there are 2 bedrooms downstairs and 1 upstairs (very normal in Australia). At the moment we are upstairs as it has its own bathroom and a dressing room bit (called a 'retreat' ha ha). DS's room is at the front of the house and DD's is next to his. Both right next to front door.
I have never slept properly here (18 months now) for this reason but 2 weeks ago my blood went cold when I read a story in the paper about a man breaking into a house and molesting a 10 year old girl who was asleep in her bedroom on the ground floor.
So ever since then I have thought about swapping and putting the children in our room, they can have their toys in the dressing room bit and DH and I can sleep downstairs.
What would you do in this situation?

Moving isn't an option as there are NO rental houses available ... we look every week.

[needmorecoffee]

my 3 shared a room at 13, 12 and 10 cos we were renting a 2 bedroomed house. Gawds but they argued. I was in the other bedroom with dd2 (baby) and dh slept downstairs so he could get some sleep!

[soapbox]

My DS and DD (8 and 10 yo respectively) each have their own beautifully decorated bedrooms full of their 'stuff'! However, they choose most nights to sleep together in the guest room which also involves sharing a double bed!

Given that they spend most of their time squabbling, I find it perplexing why they choose to do so but if it is what they want to do, and they get some kind of comfort from sleeping in the same room then I can't see it is doing any harm.

[BitOfFun]

I had to share a room with my brother (2 years younger than me) til I was 15

We actually lived in a three bedroom house, but the third room was chock full of my dad's books, to the point where you could only just open the door. As was the front room downstairs, although my mum was desperate for a dining room, and threatened divorce over the book issue - they were EVERYWHERE, all over the house, but had completely taken over every room that wasn't in immediate use.

So don't let your kids share as littluns if you think their dad might turn out to be a hoarder - they may never get their own rooms!

Seriously though, can't you stay put and just get window locks and maybe a panic alarm or baby listener in the kids' rooms? I doubt the nasty thing you described is common, especially as sleeping downstairs is generally considered safe where you are? Just my thoughts, but it's what you think is important, of course.

[BitOfFun]

That last bit was to ghosty, sorry - thought you were the OP

[Buckets]

There's no law, you're entitled to cram as many kids into a room as you like (as long as you're not charging them rent.)

[nooka]

ghosty if they are happy about it then no problem. We had our two (dd eight and ds nine) together until recently, and they have frequently said they would like to share a room again. If that's what works out best for you, then do it. So long as you are all happy then really don't give it a second thought - if three bedroom houses were the norm here we would have them sharing still.

[cikecaka]

My eldest 3 aged 12,10 and 9 have their own rooms but each night when I go check on them before I go to bed I find them all in the one bed!! Forgot 2 say that it is one ds and 2 dds

[LadyMuck]

As I understand it, the only time that there is a law is when someone is applying for a leave to stay in the UK, and as part of the process has to show that there is accommodation available. Within that process there are tests to check whether the proposed accommodation would be overcrowded. The definition is contained within Housing Act 1985. As you will see from the link a house is considered to be overcrowded if 2 persons aged 10 years or more of the opposite sex (other than husband or civil partner and wife or civil partner) have to sleep in the same room.

Bear in mind that this law just provides a definition of overcrowding. If a family had children of the opposite sex over the age of 10 sharing because they wanted to, then that would be fine provided that there were in fact enough bedrooms so as not to be overcrowded.

[McDreamy]

Thank you for all your information, don't know why I thought it was a issue. It will suit us for the next couple of years so I'll stop worrying