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).

i used tolive in a 3 bed, 1 bathroom property, with me and my 2 DD's and we managed perfectly well. we then moved to a 3 bed, 3 bathroom.. and i honestly don't know how i managed with just 1 bathroom for so long..

It’s the norm in many US houses. We have a small holiday home there. It has 3 bedrooms but (what they call) 3.5 bathrooms.

Personally, I am a fan of additional bathrooms... up to a point. So in a house with four bedrooms, I'd absolutely want one en suite, one family bathroom, possibly an additional small bathroom with a shower and toilet, and a toilet downstairs.

I think with a lot of new builds alhtouh it's multiple bathrooms, the're often small? So one has a toilet and a shower. One has a toilet and a bath. One just has a toilet etc? Which works well and offers options and also they can be tucked into slightly odd places. DH and I lived in a very small two bed terraced place and we had one full bathroom upstairs and a small toilet downstairs - was great.

One bathroom isn’t really enough in a family home IMO.

I also think the idea of a ‘master suite’ with private en suite bathroom is popular now - and I suppose that is nice, not having to compete with your kids or
houseguests for the shower.

And I agree the second toilet is essential for anything other than a flat occupied by one person / two people in a relationship.

In my experience it has been fine. But obviously every family has different schedules and needs and all that

I would happily take a house with as many bathrooms as I could afford; having to share them is one of the worst parts of living with other people. I suspect builders feel the market agrees with me.

A more cynical view: ensuite bathrooms for every bedroom makes a property much more appealing to HMO landlords.

Well, maybe some could be like that for people who are particular, but I house- and flat-shared for years with access to just the one bathroom, and would always rather have had more bedroom space than an en suite.

Someone I know rented a flat with a friend that had an ensuite and a main bathroom - but the living space was all in one and it was tiny, with a very cramped kitchen area.

There is a massive estate being built near us (on prime farmland, but hey-ho...), clearly aimed at families, and you can have a downstairs loo, a family bathroom, an en suite, and a third bedroom which is - ta-tah! - 8x8 (and the second bedroom isn't huge either),

Can you post the floor plan? Be interesting to see how it’s laid out.

people who live in these houses don’t clean their houses themselves…

I grew up in a 200+ year old house that my dad added an en-suite to in the 80s. We had a bathroom, a shower room downstairs and a toilet in the utility as well. 4 people, 4 toilets.

DH and I bought a 4 bed house with en-suite, bathroom and downstairs loo. We built an annexe in the garden with a shower room. So 4 loos and 3 people. And no cleaner.

Im not against an ensuite in every room. It just seems unnecessary and often the houses are not big enough to justify it. If the house is big enough to have decent sized rooms, ensuite and storage space. Yes please! However, the ones I've been looking at has either an ensuite or bedroom space. I'd rather have a bigger room with storage space than an extra bathroom.

A separate downstairs loo is a necessity but I think one bathroom per two bedrooms is plenty.

I lived for many years in HMOs before they were as regulated, and having 5 adults trying to shower, use the toilet etc and be out for work in the morning was horrendous.

We have a 3 bed and one main bathroom and one downstairs extra toilet. I’d LOVE to have an extra shower room. Dd aged 22 is often home and we’re all fighting over the shower, and the bathroom is right next to our bedroom so if she uses it late then it wakes me up. 😣 I do think it’s to do with young adults living at home for longer.

My friend used to live in a 1 bed new build flat. It had an open plan kitchen / living area, an en-suite off the bedroom, and then a separate cloakroom (toilet, sink) by the front door. Which made sense so that visitors didn't have to go through her bedroom to use the loo, however compared to the rest of the flat, the cloakroom was HUGE - like you could have used the room as another bedroom kind of huge. Really did not understand that layout at all, you could have had 2 bedrooms and a shared bathroom instead.

We are currently in a 4 bed new build with a downstairs loo, family bathroom and en-suite off the master bedroom upstairs. We are in the middle of downsizing to an older bungalow with just one bathroom and no other loos, I am not looking forward to it!

I'll see if I can find one! This project has been going on for a while and been to quite a few new estates so they're all muddled in my head 😅

I grew up in a 3 bed semi with 1 bathroom. So only 1 loo in the house for 4 of us.

I now live in a 2 bed house still with only 1 bathroom/loo and I have a DH and kids.

One day it's still the dream to have an en-suite and downstairs loo!

But I see lots of 2 bed new builds in my town that have a downstairs loo, family bathroom and en-suite. But it means the bedrooms are tiny. I can't see where you put a wardrobe or have any storage space. I would only want extra bathrooms without sacrificing bedroom/storage space.

Thanks I’ve not seen a 4 bed house all en suite before so be interesting to see how compromised the space is.

We spent most of our married life in Army housing with the old tradition of having sinks in bedrooms... I don't think want separate facilities is that new a trend, its just gone from sinks to full showers.

Thinking back to my childhood- we had a 5 bedroom house with one toilet, one bathroom. At one point we had foreign students boarding with us too and they shared two to a room. So there was me, Mum, Gran, and about 4 students all sharing. Aged 21 I had to have a colonoscopy where (if people don’t know) they give you a super strength laxative the day before and you’re literally stuck on the toilet for hours. That really was not fun. At all. But very normal for a house in the 80s/90s to just have the one toilet at that time!

A second toilet downstair was a must for both houses we have bought - this house also has a shower - so shower/toilet and upstair bathroom with bath/shower and 4 bed rooms.

We also looked at one house 3 bed - small family bathroom - a huge downstairs toilet with just a toilet and basin in and main room had on suite and felt too small- so three toilets for 3 bed house. The on suite was only slightly smaller than our small fourth bedroom in this house. Seemed poorly laid out and a poor use of space of size of the house.

So I think it comes down to layout. I wouldn't say no to a thrid toilet but not at expensive of other more important considerations.

We have a small 2 bed with 3 toilets ! Two en-suite bedrooms. It's one bathroom too many there's only me and DH.

Often so they have the flexibility to be bought or rented by sharers, who can typically pay more.

Plus it's seen as more luxurious. Personally in a smallish house I'd rather have more storage.

Used to work for a housebuilder.

I own a two bed house and have three toilets! It does seem over kill however I can see how they would all come in handy with children in the house or multiple adults.

I remember the annoyance of trying to get ready for school as a teen and having to wait until for a sibling to finish in the only bathroom we had or as an even younger child suddenly been bursting for the toilet and someone already being in there.

It's the Range Rover trend of housing. Unnecessary.