To think flats without a living room should be banned?

[rampacious]

I am helping DD look at flats in central London. The amount of times a flat looks promising, but then it turns out that the sitting room is one of the bedrooms. Some of these flats have tiny kitchens, with no table et cetera. So the only place that people have to eat would be at their desk, on the loo, or sat on their beds.

Does anyone else think that flats should be banned from being advertised as a two bed flat, when really it is a one bed with the living room 'converted' into a bedroom. Quite a few of these are not even significantly cheaper either.

People I know looking for house shares in London don’t expect a living room. Perhaps if you’re sharing with friends, you might choose somewhere with a living room as well, if you can afford that, but if you’re just renting a room in a house share, you just expect a bedroom and then a kitchen and bathroom to share.

Not sure I've ever lived in a houseshare without a living room

@whetherpigshavewings I've lived in many houses in my 43 years and most of them have had a 3rd box room which fits a single bed, wardrobe and no room for a bedside table. But thats still definitely a decent bedroom. I think expecting every bedroom to fit a double bed and 2 bedside tables plus a wardrobe would rule out most 3/4 bed homes in the country lol.

UK rental market is dire

Misleading property adverts drive me absolutely mad. When looking for our current house (4 bed, outer London) we viewed several houses that we would never have considered if they had had an accurate listing on Zoopla and we knew within minutes of walking in that everyone's time had just been wasted. It's so aggravating. Our requirements aren't going to change suddenly just because we're standing in the house, so what's the point? I very quickly learned to filter out listings without floorplans and without photos of every room, especially the kitchen and bathroom.

Do the agents think you'll fall in love with the shitty property and overlook the fact that it hasn't got a bathtub or the fourth "bedroom" ought to be the sitting room or is actually such a tiny box room you couldn't fit a single bed in there and still open the door? Sure, there are people who'd be happy to rent that house, but it's not me and it would have been better for everyone if they'd made it clear at the listing stage.

@Yetano you’re a landlord, can I please ask you, if a listed building is not maintained by the landlord ( old rotten sash window frames, water penetrating into the walls, etc ) who would that be reported to?

DD lived in a flat in Shepherds Bush like this for 12 months and she really struggled. I could not even imagine how challenging it would be given the current situation if all the household was working from home or furloughed.

DD decided to use spareroom.co.uk instead of estate agents as there is a specific filter you can apply to stipulate "shared living room"