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?

We are currently in a 2 bed flat, 2 boys in the big room, 1 dd in the smaller room and me & dp in the living room on a trundle bed. We have been on the waiting list since dd was born 5 years ago and I have disabilities but makes no difference.

A boy in my son’s class (7 yr old), has 5 siblings. It’s 4 boys in one bed room- two sets of bunks, eldest girl has her own room and baby shares with mam. It’s nuts

I sympathise but at least you are upsizing, BakedPotato, so things will be better for you when you have the baby.

Many of us start off small. We had a two bed terraced house badly in need of renovation when husband and I got married. We lived on a building site for years, it was dreadful and drained every penny. We had one child and eventually bought something bigger - and much nicer - but the first few years took its toll.

Some cultures frown upon contraception

I grew up in the 70s and it was completely normal to share with siblings.

I found sharing a room with my two sisters quite comforting.

Theres always the option to not have more children.

I really don't think it is. There are only around 280k second homes in the UK that are kept for private use and not let out as holiday lets. It's a tiny drop in the ocean in terms of how many houses short we are overall.

But that doesn’t help unless someone can afford to buy it off them! If you are living a cramped 1/2 bed then the chances are you are not in a position to afford a 5 bed house

A lot of the living conditions you all are describing are considered poverty. I think it’s fine for modern adults to aspire for more than tenement style living and overcrowding in 2026.

I was lucky enough to be the only girl so I had the box room. And I mean a box the bed had been made to fit a space. Thankfully I'm only 5ft tall.
Yet my 4 brothers slept in the same room on bunk beds.

Years before my husband's grandparents had 6 boys and 4 girls. They lived in a 3 bed terrace house.

It’s pretty normal for siblings to share bedrooms.

I had to share WITH MY MOTHER until I moved out of home. That was pretty bad for privacy. I have to say I’m not unaffected and fiercely guard my privacy and space as an adult.

What you describe has been completely normal for generations. It’s only relatively recently that there has been an expectation that every child should have their own room before they’re a year old. Sharing a room with one or two siblings is fine.

When ds was a toddler I knew a family who had 3 children and then had twins,all in a one bed flat.

whole families live in a single room in many parts of the world, and did in this country routinely until the 1950’s. I’m far less concerned about families sharing a two bed flat than the condition some rentals are in - a decent quality apartment even if small is better than a larger place with mould etc.

Why keep pumping out more kids when already overcrowded? Haven't these people heard of contraception?

My sister lives in a small 1 bedroom flat, and next are a family with 2 kids (boy aged 10, girl aged 5). The parents sleep in the lounge. The parents grew up in the area and want to stay near family. What i find strange is that they have a garden but never really use it. If it was me, I'd practically live in the garden in the summer.

My grandparents were both from large families of 9 kids, and lived in small terraced houses. Ironically, the front room was never used day-to-day and kept for best. Hard to imagine today, but the norm then.

Typically, houses are designed for two adults per bedroom. Five in a 2-bed doesn't sound too horrendous. (There's no law saying you should have three children)

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

In incredibly cramped and cluttered conditions, or they just don’t have that many belongings.

Living in poverty is real. So many people (not directed at you OP) on Mumsnet have really no idea how tough it it for people barely getting by.

I mean, I grew up in tiny one bedroom flat with 2 parents and 2 kids and we regularly had relatives who stayed over. So “incredibly cramped two bedroom flats” make me roll my eyes slightly

I am 65, raised Catholic so big families. My three brothers shared a room, my 2 sisters and I shared another. And everyone I knew lived like that! Back then, children didn't demand the newest, latest toy (similar to phones and computers now). We hoped to get a couple items from our Christmas or Birthday wish list and usually got clothing, too. Otherwise, new outfits came at Easter and Back-to-school only. This generation has so much, and parents that cater to every whim. When you have less, you appreciate what you do have.

Until recently we had 4 kids in a 3 bed house. You store things everywhere. We bought a bigger house in a cheaper county when deciding to have a fourth. But the found out two of kids needed to move to a SEN school and couldn't move their EHCPs. My dad was one of 15 in a two bed council high rise. Could be worse

I live in a 3 bed semi with 3 children, is this deemed cramped? So parents own room, eldest own room, youngest 2 share?

I work on child protection in a very large northern city. In many ways it is thriving but as in most cities in the UK, the poor are getting poorer and services have been slashed. Maybe my view of the world is skewed because of the job I do, but I cannot beleive this can be a shock to anyone. Their has been a housing crisis for decades. They golden age of social welfare ended a long time ago. Social housing is gold dust, most is in poor repair as no funds to maintain and overcrowding does not put anyone at the top of the list for a move. It is not uncommon for a family of 5-6 or more to live in a one/two bed property. Even those fleeing violence etc on band A are looking at a 5 year wait unless they agree to a hostel anywhere in the UK. Unless you have a medical need then this is the reality. Even then, a family member aged 50 has been sitting in a nursing home for people with dementia for over a year as no accessible flats exist.

As for private housing, rented or mortgaged, for those stuck in rental or trying to get on the housing ladder, the costs and requirements are unobtainable for many. My DC is paying £1000 pm for a room in a shared house at uni ffs. There are lots of people congratulating themselves because their houses have made them lots of money because they were able to buy at the right time, with an affordable deposit and manage a mortgage on average wages. I know there have been times of much higher interests rates, I lived through it, but higher interest on a much smaller mortgage was still more affordable than young people are having to pay now. That is if they can even manage to save for a deposit whilst paying massive rents, student loans etc.

It's pretty common now with such high housing costs and homelessness.

I live in a 2 bed with 3 of us. The 2 teens have the bedrooms and I sleep on the sofa. I know lots of other mums doing that.

I used to know a family of 5 living in a 1 bed. The older child had the bedroom. The parents slept on a sofa bed with a bed and cot in the living room for the younger 2.

I know another family of 5 living in a 2 bed. Mum in the living room and 2 children in each bedroom.

My BF lived in a homeless hostel in 1 room smaller than my living room with her 2 teens.

People can aspire to whatever they fancy but in reality, in 2026, you're doing well if you have a secure roof (of any description) over your head.