Housing Crisis - 5 in a two bed flat

[Westcountrygal]

I was flabbergasted to recently learn about so many people sharing incredibly cramped living conditions. A Scottish MP saying on the radio that he grew up sharing with his two brothers, effectively three kids to a bedroom.

A colleague living in a two bed flat with her three kids, older ones sharing and baby in with the parents- where will they all go as the kids get older?

I live in an incredibly expensive city and coming across so many people living in very cramped living conditions must be so difficult. Where do people even keep all their clothes/ endless washing/ belongings?

That’s why in villages when they built the council houses to replace the wayside cottages they have three big bedrooms. One was for the parents, one for girls and one for boys.

I agree, but will probably get a pasting.

Why have 4-5 kids if you only have 2-3 bedrooms?

Of course contraception can fail, but multiple times?

Isn’t the responsibility on adults to only have as
many children as you can afford, the same as any lifestyle choice?

It's always happened, not related to current house prices at all. I grew up in a 3 bed flat in a family of 6. I shared with 2 sisters (my brother was the only boy and had a bedroom to himself). I hated the lack of privacy and moved out as soon as I could, and never went back to live with my parents after going to uni. I can never understand why my parents continued to have more children living in a small flat.

Just because I grew up in cramped conditions I never considered it to be acceptable. I have 3 dcs and we are in a 4 bed house. I would have stopped at 1 or 2 dcs if I couldn't afford a house with a bedroom for each of them.

It's not unusual @Westcountrygal . Many siblings share bedrooms. Not so many years ago people had much larger families eg 10 children and in back to back terraces. It is possible not to need lots if space and get on.

Surely 2 or more is more sensible in this economy.

Not sure that I would call this a “housing crisis”. The word “crisis” suggests that it’s sudden and urgent.

In fact, it’s always been pretty common for people to live like this (am interested to know how old the MP you refer to was). It really only seems to be the current generation that expects a bedroom each. And anyone who chooses to have more than two kids will, in all likelihood, end up with some of those kids needing to share. Of course housing has always been built smaller, and cost more, in large cities so more likely for people to be in a small flat than a big house. More so in a big city where houses (or flats) are often built smaller and are more expensive.

Of course it’s not ideal, I’m not saying that it is. But just meaning that people who would consider this a “crisis” clearly have no idea about how people have lived for years.

Me and my siblings shared a room when we still lived in the family home, we lived in a three bed flat, but the biggest bedroom was rented out to help cover the rent.

Our two children have their own room, if for some reason we were to live apart we could both afford a three bed property, we are incredibly lucky that that would be possible.

Bunk beds

My 85 year old mum grew up in a tiny terraced house and slept in the same room as her three sisters they even shared beds. Her only brother had the tiny box room and the loo was at the bottom of the yard. She LOVED her childhood always said it was one of the happiest times of her life. They remained a close family too.

I was the youngest of 8. But I don't remember them all living at home but from my memory its was bedroom 1. 2 brothers and nephew bunk bed plus single bed. Bedroom 2 myself 2 sisters bunk bed and single. Box room sister. My parents slept down stairs on a fold out sofa . It was a through lounge.

It wasn't bad. But we didn't know any different so it wasn't horrible.

I think it seems more extreme now people have less children but a few decades ago not sharing would have been unusual. My husband shared with his two brothers until he was well into adulthood. His two sisters also shared a box room with bunk beds til their mid twenties. Over crowding legislation takes into account living rooms so a two bedroom flat or house is very likely to be able to house 6 people without being considered overcrowded.

Where do people even keep all their clothes/ endless washing/ belongings?

I grew up in a tiny cottage in a small village in Lancashire in the 50s and always had a shared bedroom (either 2 or 3 to the room, all girls) Our few clothes went in a chest of drawers in the bedroom and downstairs each child had one small drawer in the kitchen dresser for her things. The trick is to own very little. 😉

I agree in a housing crisis no one needs a second home that lays empty alot of the time .

I’m not sure it’s a crisis but more peoples choices and expectations are different.
I have 3 children, we had a 3 bed house. When it became apparent the two sharing a room couldn’t share because they hated each other we saved and extended into the loft.
I would never have had more than 3, despite wistfully thinking 4 would have been lovely because of the space and finances we have.
My friend has 4 children sharing the master bedroom in 2 bunk beds, one in a small box room as it’s an opposite gender to its siblings and then they have the middle bedroom.
They brought their house when
the first one was a baby and despite knowing how many rooms they had, they decided on 5 children. They are all loved and cherished and have a close sibling bond, they don’t appear to mind sharing 4 to a room.
I wouldn’t have chosen to have such a large family, but both of them are from larger families so for them it was the norm, whereas I was luckily to always have my own room and valued my space.
Peoples circumstances do change, but I never understand people who are already overcrowded having extra children.

I had a couple of friends growing up who were sharing a room of 3 siblings. I was quite envious of them growing up, I thought it would be really nice always having someone to share with. They've grown up to be lovely adults who are doing well in life. It's only on MN I've seen people shocked about siblings sharing a room. It was the norm where I grew up.

Oh give over .
Since time began we’ve had it drummed into us to do well at school get a good job work hard and you get somewhere in life and all you want to do is tear us down . You give your money to someone else then if that’s what you want .

My mother lived in a 2 up 2 down with 7 siblings and 2 parents and an uncle. I lived with my parents, grand father, great aunt, uncle, aunt , sibling and cousin in a 3 bed house because the alternative was the streets for some. If Andy Burnham can tackle the tragedy of people living on the streets he will have been worth my vote.

I shared with my siblings. People lived within their means. Perfectly normal.

That sounds unsustainable :(

Family of 5, parents and three chilren in a flat with two bedrooms is not incredibly crowded and its not a crisis.

It’s not always a choice if split up and need to provide a roof over your kids so have a smaller place

but it’s more the ones who have 2 kids in a 2 bed so kids share - then have a 3rd

or couples with kids each and then have a joint child and if in housing they want a larger place

Don’t be so ridiculous 🙄. Suggesting no one needs a second home is not “tearing you down”. What ludicrous victim mentality.

7 of us in a 3 bed in the 70s … 3 girls in one bedroom, 2 boys in another, mum & dad in the third.

It was fine - no central heating (of course), you always a siblings bed to crawl into

That's all very well, but with my colleague (see my post above) as I understand it hee parents bought a 2-up and 2-down as their first home. They were planning to move before are and her brother got too old to share.

Her dad then became unexpectedly ill and had to give up work. Her mum worked in a low paid job. They could t afford to move to a 3 bed property as they originally planned

Shit happens

I'm 66. I shared a bedroom with my parents in the '60s. We had an inside toilet, but no bathroom.

I recall that another family in the same block had 5 children. Yet another family had only 3 children, but three adults in the household. All the flats had only one bedroom.