Why do so many new builds have en-suites/lots of bathrooms?

[Bloodybrambles]

Just out of curiosity really. Growing up I don’t really remember them being much of a thing. Maybe large houses (4+ bedrooms) would have an en-suite off the master bedroom. I remember house hunting with my parents as a kid and a downstairs toilet was a deal breaker. Even then I don’t remember that many houses having en-suites/lots of bathrooms (I feel like we viewed hundreds of houses).

A few of my friends live in new builds and something I’ve noticed is a lot of bathrooms:bedroom/space. One friend has a five bed with five bathrooms! No wonder she has a cleaner…

My best friend has just bought his first house. It’s a cozy two bed, open plan downstairs with a WC, then the master bedroom with en suite and bedroom 2 (just about fit single bed + wardrobe) with the family bathroom opposite. He had been looking with his partner for months and just wanted something in budget, that had at least two bedrooms + parking.

It’s almost made me conscious that we’ve not future proofed with what we hope to be our family home. One family bathroom for three bedrooms (plus wc downstairs).

Downstairs WC has been a thing for a while.

Means visitors don't need to use the family bathroom.

But yes, I've noticed this. It does mean a lot less pressure on the family bathroom - when I was growing up there was only one bathroom and no separate wc so it was very busy in the mornings!

It’s considered a luxury to have a bathroom per bedroom. It does get a bit silly for a 2 bed property though. I like to have more than one toilet in the house, unless perhaps if I lived alone. I like to have a toilet downstairs and ideally would have an en suite off the master but only if it was big enough. I don’t spend ages in the bathroom and don’t want to encourage others to do so, so I’d rather have the space for things other than bathrooms, personally. If I moved into a new build with multiple bathrooms I would mothball lots of them and use them as a storage cupboard.

My in laws house has 5 bedrooms 1 bathroom. It was on the market for 3 years and never sold . They refuse to entertain an additional toilet

We live in a 3 bed semi with one family bathroom, my DS has just purchased a 2 bed flat, one en-suite, but to have this, they have an open kitchen/lounge/dining area. I would love a downstairs wc, when we go on holiday we make sure we have en-suites.

I look at the floorpans for the (popping up like bloody mushrooms) new builds round here and am honestly baffled why they are laid out the way they are. Downstairs WC, solid idea, handy for the elderly, for potty training DC etc. But I don't understand wasting floorspace in a not-very-big 3-bedder on an en suite. The third bedroom ends up absolutely tiny.

My brother has a tiny new build. 3 tiny bedrooms and 3 toilets 😱 Better surely to get rid of one of the bathrooms and make one of the bedrooms a decent size surely?

A lot of families have adult children living at home for longer and life is a LOT easier if you don't all have to share the same bathroom!
Also - quite often the only way to afford a house is to share with somebody else. Either to buy together (not as a couple) or as a lodger, and people expect to have their own bathroom if they're paying for it.
Finally - a lot of people like them. We have a 4 bedroomed house. We have a (tiny) family bathroom, an en suite, and a new downstairs shower/utility room. Our thinking was:
We need to future-proof, hence wanting a downstairs bathroom
It is a 4 bedroomed house which is quite likely to house up to 6 people comfortably and 7 less comfortably. For that many people you need several bathrooms to stop arguments about usage.

I like a lot of bathrooms.

i love our en suite. It’s a shower room and main bathroom had a full size bath. Two loos means if someone is in it be you don’t need to wait. Plus the shower room is so handy.

I find it hilarious when you see 8 bedrooms 6 bathrooms on mansions- imagine the cleaning on that!!!!!

To me, an ensuite plus family bathroom and downstairs loo is plenty in a 4 bed house. It’s always been fine for us (and guests) in our 60s house. The trouble with multiple bathrooms in newbuilds is that too often the bedrooms end up on the small side, lack of cupboard space, etc.

When I was a child, both houses I remember well had just one bathroom (and a bath, no shower) with a separate loo - just as well for 6 of us, when someone was luxuriating in a long bath. There was also an outside loo (originally intended for the skivvy/gardener) but I can’t remember ever using it - too cold and/or spiders!

But I still remember my sister at 3, frantically jumping up and down outside the occupied indoor loo - ‘It’s comin’, it’s comin’, it’s comin’!’

A sister’s garden outbuilding in The Dales still had the wooden double loo seat, and cut up sheets of newspaper hanging from a nail!

We only have one bathroom and it has the only toilet - it's a right bloody pain in the arse and there's only two of us. I'd hate to live here with children.

It's a bonkers trend! And at the expense of bedroom and storage space. I wouldn't mind if the bathrooms were attached to sensible sized spaces.

I don't like to share a bathroom with anyone unless I absolutely have to. On holiday I nearly always go to a property that has at least two bathrooms unless I am on my own. Prefer not to use a hotel for the single bathroom reason. Everyone is different. I would prefer to have a box room as a third bedroom and an extra bathroom, than three bigger bedrooms.

It's a modern luxury I think. People used to share toilets in the street, then people had a bathroom in the house, and now the less sharing the better.

I personally love having my own bathroom, I know a lot of people aren't fussed and would prefer the space, especially if it's a smaller modern house, but I'd give up floor space. For me as a family of 4 the minimum I would tolerate is 2 bathrooms plus a downstairs toilet. And it must have a walk in shower in the en-suite and bathroom, not a shower over a tub. My dream home id have my own bathtub.

Absolutely hate staying in people's houses if they only have one toilet, sadly that's most of our family 😩 (anxiety issue, not snobbery!)

What bugs me is the 2 beds with 2 bathrooms and an open plan kitchen living space and no utility. Surely somewhere for the laundry that's not your main living room is better than the 2nd bathroom in that situation.

I live in a five bedroom, five toileted house. But one bedroom is absolutely tiny and has a door into a shared en-suite with another bathroom. Seriously contemplating getting rid of that bathroom to make the smaller bedroom a reasonable size (ie space for a bed, a chest of drawers and a wardrobe) - it’s not just the size, it’s the amount of wall space taken up with doors.

We have a spacious 4 double bedroom house, 2 are en suite and large family bathroom plus downstairs loo, no rooms are compromised on space for the en suites, 80’s build, love having private space and guests appreciate it as well.

I would much rather have a second bathroom than a utility room.

Is it so they can be used as HMOs or adult housemates living together, which is more and more common nowadays?

I tease my eldest DD and her partner that they have more loos than bums. Three toilets, two bathrooms for two of them - and the downstairs loo means that their utility space is tiny, I know they have to build with accessible toilets, but what's the point in having a huge loo downstairs with a wheelchair accessible doorway and everything, when all the bedrooms are upstairs and no way to make an accessible downstairs bedroom?

I had this years ago when I lived in the US, before it was a big thing in the UK. What I very quickly realised was that it made a lot of extra cleaning. And I banned the family from using one to cut down on the cleaning.

I'm not a fan at all although I'd like a downstairs loo/shower for when I'm older. Not happening though.

I've been to quite a few new builds lately and they have an insane amount of bathrooms. I think a downstairs WC and one bathroom upstairs is plenty. A second one upstairs would be a luxury. But these house have 4 bedrooms and ensuites in all of them. A box room that barely fits a desk, let alone a bed has an ensuite. But the storage space is terrible. One estate agents suggested that stuff can be kept in the garage. So all family can shower st the same time and then move to the garage to get dressed 😃

Because adult children stay at home longer. I dont want to share a bath with my 20 yr old DS.

It depends on who’s living in the house, as many PPs have said. I have only ever lived in older houses and although I have coped so far with a single family bathroom (1930s semi) my next place will need more bathrooms/toilets due to the amount of people now living here as I have acquired a partner and children.

I always get envious of downstairs loos and wish there was room for one here!

I think a downstairs WC and one bathroom upstairs is plenty.

When living with children maybe, but with teens and adults showering daily, one bathroom isn't enough for 4 people, in my experience.