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).

A property near me has been extensively renovated with a two story extension over the last couple of years, and when it went up for sale I had a look at the listing. Very surprised to find it as a 4 bed and two bath (one is en suite) but two of the bedrooms could barely fit a single bed and bedside table, never mind anything else.

I think it's just a 'trend'

Yeah, we'll be back to sharing a toilet between 10 houses again before we know it, can spread the cleaning between 10 families that way! Nothing to moan about then.

D/S loo is essential for potty training

It's nice. It's by no means "essential".

I never understand the trend for ensuites. I'd much rather have 2 bathrooms and noone traipsing through my bedroom for the toilet/shower because the other one is in use.

I also don't get the point of a bathroom and ensuite in 2 bed flats. Why?! So much useful space is being wasted.

I think it's more a matter of them not wanting to do anything other than just move in. They don't want to decorate, do DIY, deal with tradespeople for fitting new electrics/plumbing, etc - all the things that you normally have to do when buying an older house.

In my job, I've been to loads of peoples' homes over the years and my over-riding impression of people living in new build estates, is that they'd just not done anything to them, however long they've lived there, whether 5 years, 20 years, etc. Most still have "beige" painted walls, clearly original kitchens and bathrooms, and generally no sign of any work being done other than furniture and furnishings. I think that's what appeals - simply not having to do anything other than the "fun" things of soft furnishings!

We have a much extended 1930s house.

Original house had one family bathroom for 3 beds.

Now we have a downstairs loo, the family bathroom on the first floor and a shower room (not ensuite) on the 2nd floor which the two 2nd floor bedrooms share.

So it's a 5 (well 4 plus box) bedroom house with a downstairs loo, a full family bathroom and a 2nd floor shower room. It works really well. Adult kids share the top floor when they're back from Uni. Definitely works better for them to have their own shower room. I wouldn't want any more toilets/bathrooms than we have, though and I'm not really a fan of ensuites.

It’s really not a ‘trend’. It’s part of an evolution of living standards. Many of us will have grandparents that remember the only loo being outside.

And new builds are not all ‘little boxes’ with little to no space. I work in the design/construction industry. The new builds I’m involved with are spacious and well-designed. Having lots of bathrooms is not just aspirational, it’s expected in decent new or extended homes.

Visitors with mobility issues? Our accessible downstairs toilet was a godsend when elderly DMiL visited and needed help with using the toilet.

Hell on earth, oh aye .

We only have one bathroom, 4 adults here. Everyone showers every day. It's not ideal but a larger house with another bedroom and bathroom is beyond our budget.

Developers only do things to make money. If they are building houses like this, one can only assume it is because to most people it is a positive

“An embarrassment of toilets” is my new favourite collective noun 😊

We are currently house-hunting and a second WC is absolutely a deal breaker for a family home. When you've had the luxury of it, it's very difficult to go back.

I understand its use in that circumstance, however I'm not sure that every house on the estate is going to have visitors with mobility issues, and, whilst the downstairs loo has a door wide enough for a wheelchair, none of the other doors are, so they wouldn't get into the house in the first place.

I'd rather have the space but we are a family of of 4 (2 adults, 2 young adults) with just one bathroom (shower over bath) no separate toilet and it's fine. We are just used to saying if we are off to have a shower / bath, and we have a routine that works in the mornings, it's never caused any arguments. We are all in and out fairly quickly. A second loo would be nice but we don't have space.

Developers build whatever will sell. They don't decide what the market wants.

I rule out houses without a main bedroom ensuite unless it looks like it would be easy enough to put one in. But it's not often there's room to do that if it wasn't factored in initially.

I'd cope with no downstairs toilet though.

I remember selling our 5 bed house about 15 years ago, it was a beautiful big old house with huge garden and spectacular views. One viewer who came from a new housing estate, said to me (As she was looking over the balcony to the stunning open countryside), it's a shame you only have 1 en-suite.....people are bloody mad IMO.

And new builds are not all ‘little boxes’ with little to no space.

Precisely, the smaller ones are the more affordable ones, for people with smaller budgets, but still wanting the benefits of a modern home (which for us included well insulated, family friendly layout, turn key condition and 3 toilets).

When we were buying our second home, we had a bigger budget, and got a much bigger new build, much larger the UK average size home. I don't know why people try to group new builds together, it's just the time it was built, your budget will determine the size.

I'd say the same, sorry. But then I am not keen on gardens or old houses at all if I have to maintain them.
People like different things.

I never understood it until I had it. Grew up in, and then subsequently lived in, houses with 3/4 bedrooms (at least one a real box room) and only ever one bathroom, no downstairs loo.

Moved to 5 bedrooms / 6 bathrooms (overkill) then again to better location, 5 bedroom, downstairs loo, 1 x en-suite, 1 x family bathroom. Honestly, we struggled. The kids seemed to always NEED the bathroom at the same time.

I couldn’t even comprehend the need (or want) for so much as a downstairs loo previously but once everyone had had their own bathrooms, it was hard to go back!

We ended up moving so that everyone has their own bathrooms, plus a shared bathroom for the 2 spare bedrooms and it’s perfect. We still have space for all bedrooms to be doubles though.

Because people want them. I think it is a good thing.

society moves on! Thank god! People used to have one bathroom between a whole family and wash once a week in a shared bath…ffs! No one wants to live like that!

2 bed 2 baths = 2 professionals sharing ie made for buy to rent.
what’s even more fucked is when the lease stipulates you can’t change the function of one of these bathrooms to something more useful to you as a family even if you have a mortgage on it.

And we only had one loo which was outside!

I don't like en suites (except in hotels) but I would want more than one bathroom. In my current house we have a bathroom and a shower room upstairs, and a shower room downstairs. We could live without the downstairs shower but we chose to have it when putting in a downstairs toilet because it'll be useful for ageing parents when they come to visit, and for muddy dogs.

Most of the neighbours with similar houses have the upstairs shower room as an en suite, but IMO it's so much better as a separate room - it's no further away to go out of the bedroom door and into the bathroom doo, there's more flexibility about who can use it, no disturbing your partner in bed, and more flexibility about where you can put your furniture in the main bedroom. One of the things I don't like about many newbuilds compared to older houses is that you often have to put your furniture exactly where the architect planned, or it doesn't fit.

With newbuilds, there’s also the fact that show houses/flats are very cleverly (cunningly!) staged, to make them seem a lot more spacious than they actually are. And I dare say quite a few people are seduced by the show of glossy-mag perfection, and don’t pay too much attention to actual room sizes.