What's classed as over crowding

[kylierose15]

Delete if not allowed but I need some advice.
Ine and my partner are in a tiny two bed house and have a daughter who's 9 and a baby boy who's 5 months
Can they share?
I’m with the council currently so will they move me?
I've previously put a complaint in as my neighbour smokes weed a lot and I can never have my windows open.
But nothing
Thanks

Obviously they can share?

Depends if your council class the lounge as a bedroom.
They will also have rules on how long diff sex children can share for.
Your baby will be expected to be in with you.

Of course they can share, 2 kids and 2 adults in a 2 bed is fairly standard and children under 10 don't count for the opposite sex calculation. Living rooms would also count as a room.

Even as kids get older or if you have more, it will only count if they put you into the situation, technically not if you choose to have more kids / move in your mum etc.

Are you looking to move? Could a swap work?
england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/check_if_your_home_is_overcrowded_by_law

Of course they can share, or your baby can be in with you for a couple of years. That’s pretty normal. If you aren’t happy with that situation then why did you have another baby?

No need for the rude comments.I just asked what my options were.

I got told of they're the opposite sex and the eldest is over 8 they can't share. My daughter would love to share but just looking for some advice
Thanks

Ok so your options are either put up with the situation you are in now are it’s pretty normal to be in a two bed with two kids, or private rent somewhere you think is more suitable for your wants.

Who has told you that they can't share past 8 years old?

They're clearly confused, also I wonder what kind of place you live in, where it's so unusual to share? In most of the UK a 5 month old will still be in with parents, and it's also not uncommon for kids to share until leaving home, though clearly less ideal for teenagers and especially mixed sex.

A two bed house with two adults, a child and a baby is absolutely not overcrowded.

You will never be moved by the council on this basis.

There are no laws on siblings sharing a room, guidance states it's ideal for children to have their own room from age 10.

I don’t think people are being rude I think it’s wondering why on earth you feel they can’t share. You have now explained that someone told you after the age of 8…
In an ideal world siblings would all have their own space but 2 children sharing a room certainly wouldn’t be classed as overcrowding.
Many siblings share their whole time at home, will become more awkward as they get older which may be when the council would take things into consideration.

You would not be classed as over crowded until your baby is over 1 year old and you daughter is over 10 years old.

You need to check with your council, as even though you may become over crowded in the future the waiting time for a 3 bed on the transfer register could be quite long (ours is 10 years).

Lots of people make 2 beds work for mixed sex dc. Move the dc into the largest bedroom either use bunk beds or room divider.

I chose to let my 2 children have a bedroom each and I had a sofa bed in the lounge. Not ideal but worked for us.

Whoever told you that is an idiot so don't believe other things they tell you in future

It used to be age 8 in my area at least but changed well over 10 years ago.

That rule still presumably didn't apply to sharing with babies/toddlers/young children and was more about two pubescent children of different sexes sharing a room.

The rule for social housing was originally designed to prevent incest due to bedroom sharing by teen mixed sex siblings. Understanding the reason for the original rule might help with understanding why sharing with a baby is not considered an issue.

No there's such a shortage right now they won't move you just coz you had a baby. Maybe when baby is about 8 start looking into it