Oh, so THAT'S why new homes in this country are so small...

[MayaAngelCool]

It's all about making money, apparently...

"Riba survey found the average floor space of a new dwelling in England and Wales was 76 sq m, against 81.5 sq m in Italy, 92 sq m in Japan and 115 sq m in Holland"

And then they call it affordable housing to force someone to pay £60,000 for a 25% share in a property worth £200K. Of course the developers say it's worth £320K. And then they make them pay rent for the other 75%. Lambs to the slaughter really.

I think the best comment under this article is the one that points out that in the UK we advertise a "two bed flat" or "three bed house". In other countries they advertise a "45 sq m flat" or "80 sq m house".

If buyers started to ask for details of total floor space rather than number of bedrooms, I suspect developers would have to change their practices.

(Of course, if new homes do get bigger, that may mean there are fewer of them, so they will get more expensive).

I think it should be illegal to call a room a bedroom if you couldn't get a single bed into it and be able to walk around it. It's ridiculous sometimes what thy claim is a bedroom.

I agree - we went to look round a new build "3 bedroom" house. The third bedroom had a little toddler bed and a tiny chest of drawers in it - there was no way you could have fitted a single bed into it.
Downstairs the kitchen had a tiny high table with two bar stools, no room for a proper dining table in there or in the (tiny) living room.
Yet the place had 4 toilets! A downstairs cloakroom, an upstairs family bathroom, an ensuite bathroom to the master bedroom and the second bedroom.
So, supposing a 3 bed house is aimed at a family of 4, everyone in the house would have the opportunity to pee simultaneously on their own personal toilet, but would have to eat their meals in shifts. And you'd only be able to sleep in one of the "bedrooms" if you were shorter than a 5 year old.

Good point about square metrage. We seem to be constantly short-changed in this country. And yes, of course developers would take advantage, the bastards.

As for estate agents lying about room sizes, I do wonder how stupid they think people must be. Anyone can see right off whether a room is a single, double or box. They should not be allowed to get away with that.

Perhaps there should be a national standard set for the smallest size one can get away with calling a single/ double, etc. I'm sure the cretins would try to get around that somehow, though.