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 assumed it was as multi generational living might become more of a thing.. kids grow into adults and then what?

We bought a house to ensure our 3 and 1 year old could in theory live here for as long as they need,not sharing one bathroom between four adults is a part of that

I wouldn't live somewhere without two toilets (if not two bathrooms) . We have sacrificed having an extra bedroom in favour of a second toilet when looking at houses.

It affects my marriage in a huge way having to share with him.
He is diabetic and on certain mess that cause issues in that department.

I am very sensitive to smells.

We have shared a bathroom when finances were tight, but long term I wouldn't consider renting or buying a home without a second toilet (preferably bathroom).

I always have the ensuite and he uses the other toilet/bathroom.

I know a lot of people who also wouldn't consider homes with only one toilet, so I think these days I wouldn't buy one from an investment perspective also.

Exactly! I don’t understand why people can’t accept that we move on and forward!

I live in a 30’s built council property. We have a bathroom and separate toilet downstairs and that’s it but we have managed fine. Everyone has their own bath/shower routine and for the moment part we don’t clash. I’m not sure I’d manage without a separate toilet though. I wouldn’t want to have a tiny house that has compromised storage and room space for an additional bathroom. Especially when you look at tiny 2 beds that have an open plan living room/kitchen then a toilet in the cupboard in the living room! I would want everyone listening to me wee as they watch TV!

This development is a few miles from where I live.

It's not a four bed but it is a three bed and each bedroom has its own bathroom. As well as a downstairs loo. The third bedroom is very small.

Floorplans
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/158839391#/floorplan?activePlan=1&id=media25&channel=RES_BUY

I think it's really odd personally, and perhaps slightly tacky...

For me the ideal is one bathroom per floor.
So in a standard semi-detached 4 debroom house, that means a big bathroom on the first floor, and a toilet on the ground floor.

We currently live in a 3 storey hosue with no bathroom on the top floor, (so people in the top floor have to walk downstairs to the family bathroom). We looked at putting in a tiny shower room up there but we're moving now so won't. Next door have done though.

Our next house has 4 bedrooms all on the first floor, with a family bathroom, and a toilet downstairs, which is just right!

perhaps slightly tacky...

Oh come on you need to expand on this, how is having multiple bathrooms "tacky"?

I absolutely love having an en-suite! I know they’re not popular on here though. I would never choose to live a in a family home with only one toilet. 3 loos in the house works perfectly.

That's us, OP. New build, 5 bedrooms, all en suite plus downstairs cloakroom. All of them are big bathrooms too, with walk in showers, two have baths. We don't have a cleaner. DH and I each use a bedroom as an office and clean those ourselves. Our teens do a passable job of keeping theirs clean and tidy on a day to day basis, and I do a deep clean of them all every couple of weeks. It's fine, I would rather this than queuing for the bathroom and having to deal with teenage other people's detritus.

My friend once engaged an architect to extend her bungalow upwards. Specifically said only ONE en suite, one upstairs family bathroom and one jack and jill.
Designs came back with ensuite to each of the 5 upstairs bedrooms.

There's definitely demand for it. We just moved into a house that has 4 beds upstairs and 2 bathrooms plus one downstairs loo. One of the bathrooms is a massive ensuite and the other a tiny family bathroom. Agent fed back that that was a major sticking point for a lot of potential buyers - basically they wanted at least one more bathroom so that three upstairs bedrooms weren't sharing the tiny family bathroom. We are going to make those changes as the floorplan and bedroom sizes accommodate but I get that a lot of people don't want the hassle.

All the new builds of similar sizes to ours are 5 bed/ 5 bath- one might be a J&J, but still.

Of course, whether these houses actually have the water pressure for 3/4 simultaneous showers is a whole other question.

But you'd probably not arrange to view one...They did buy it in the end though

I have often wondered this when it comes to the smaller 2 and 3 bed new builds.

Making the rooms smaller to include en-suites makes no sense to me. In my opinion having one regular bathroom and a small downstairs toilet is far better use of the floorspace.

I don’t see the loss of bedroom furniture as a ‘luxury’ I see it as annoying and impractical. All I want is 1 loo downstairs and a family bathroom upstairs. Yet every house, no matter how tiny, seems to sacrifice all this space to en suites. It’s madness.

Maybe take turns. Did you ever consider that?

Expectations have definitely changed since the late 1980s when I was viewing houses to move from the South to the Midlands. I remember looking at a new build off plan and saying to the sales rep that life was too short to clean three toilets - downstairs toilet, en suite and main bathroom! Up until this house move, I had only lived in houses with one upstairs bathroom.

I did concede and bought a 4 bed house with a downstairs cloakroom but I’ve never owned a house with an en suite, never felt that I’ve missed out either. But a downstairs toilet would be important to me now if I lived in a two storey house but I’m in a lovely dormer bungalow with a large loft room that has a small en-suite - used for guests so ideal. I sleep downstairs and use the main bathroom.

The downside is that visitors also use that bathroom so I have to have a quick wipe round before anyone comes!

Making the rooms smaller to include en-suites makes no sense to me. In my opinion having one regular bathroom and a small downstairs toilet is far better use of the floorspace.

But as has been pointed out, this is a minority view, house builders wouldn't build multiple bathrooms for fun, it's based on research to maximise profitability. If they could sell the same house without the additional bathrooms, they'd make more money, so the fact they are spending millions on the multiple bathrooms shows it's what the majority of people want.

I suspect it'll eventually become a generational thing as well, the more it becomes a norm, the more it'll be expected.

I've never had an ensuite, nor do I want one. Cleaning the bathroom is my least favourite task so the fewer the better. We don't even have a downstairs toilet. My iLs had an ensuite shower room and it was so pokey - a tiny shower that you kept banging your elbows on. They've now moved to a 2 bedroom flat with has 2 ensuite bathrooms plus another separate toilet.

I don't know if it's come from America as they seem to have a bathroom for every bedroom.

Building regs require an accessible toilet on the ground floor. So that’s an upgrade on older buildings which tend to just have an upstairs bathroom

Developers know everyone likes en-suites. They build to market demand.

I suppose if we don’t want to waste resources we need to stop pushing for it.

I rented a one bed flat once and it baffled me and pretty much anyone who visited that I had an en-suite and a bathroom. The bathroom door was next to my bedroom 🤷‍♀️ and I had a super tiny kitchen

Also means not enough storage in the main bedroom

They often do that to sell to house sharers

What a terrible first floor layout.
Theres no option for access to a larger family bathroom so helping little ones wash is almost impossible unless you go through the master bedroom.
Much better to have one large family bathroom with direct access of the upstairs landing.

Sod extra bathrooms, the real prize is an upstairs laundry.

In fact, my dream property would have an upstairs laundry in-between two bathrooms (one en suite, one family. The cupboards would open from either side, with containers for clean socks, tops etc

So you could put dirty clothes into the laundry from the bathroom, and take clean clothes out also. Washing machine, hand wash sink, tumble drier and open air drying rack all incorporated into the laundry room, plus ironing and steaming facilities.

The bedroom would just have a tasteful armoire for special occasion wear.

There's a new batch of new builds near me and the two beds have a family bathroom, en-suite and downstairs loo, my sisters is the same but that was built 12 years ago. I agree its far to many for smaller houses, although we are in a 3 double bed with only one bathroom, we definitely need a downstairs loo but could probably do without another bathroom upstairs.

I think for similar reasons that they shoehorn in as many bedrooms as they can, we viewed a "4 bed" house and the 4th bedroom was a small single next to the front door - basically a large cupboard with a very small window 🙄madness.