Now, how do you define a ‘semi-detached’ property?

[peteneras]

OK, I know two properties joined together without any other properties attached to either is surely termed as a semi-detached.

What if you have 3 properties joined together - can the two properties on either side of the link be termed a semi-detached?

For that matter, can the two end properties of a linked row of houses be termed as a semi-detached property?

Nope, there is a separate term for the houses you are thinking of - "end-terrace".

No, the end properties would be an end of terrace not a semi.

Yes, it depends if you're selling or buying

Definitely end-terrace, we live in one all the benefits of semi-detached but cheaper to buy.

agree . end terrace. we live in one. 3 staggered, obviously the two either end are end terraced.

My old house was one end of a terrace of three and was definitely described as End of Terrace. Mind you that was over a decade ago before too much madness had afflicted the market.

We were an end of three and it was described as either throughout the years. We describe it to insurance companies, estate agent etc and sometimes they called it one, sometimes the other.

I'm interested to know, what is an advantage of a semi- over end of terrace? not from the pint of view of EAs, but actual advantage?

Is it justified that they are cheaper than semi-s? may be it's considered that a whole terrace is more prone to structural or maintenance problems (if period especially - but then is it not actually a stronger structure)?

An end of terrace is technically semi detached ! However you may find that there is a right of access over your rear garden to the one/s in the middle which is less likely with a semi.

no access right issues on any of the terraces, round here. all gardens back onto either a field, or council owned maintained gardens. so no access issues.

We once lived in a terraced house that was the end but one in a block of five. The houses all had a very small back yard and then there was a footpath across the back with access to all the yards and which separated off all the gardens.

We never had any problems and the advantage was that there was access to all the gardens without going through the houses. But it wouldn't suit everyone.

Thanks for all your comments. End terrace would be the term used by most people, if not all people, to describe the two end properties of a row of houses. The term is certainly not wrong because it describes exactly what it says on the tin.

But this thread asks for the definition of a semi-detached property. The word semi means half as in semi-circle (half a circle), semi-final (half final), etc. A ‘semi-detached’ property would therefore mean a half-detached property, i.e. one-half is detached and the other half is attached - to 1 other property; 10 other properties or 100 other properties, it doesn’t really matter. Therefore, the two end properties of a linked row of houses can be described as a semi-detached property according to this online dictionary.

Well, yes, technically they are 'semi-detached' from their neighbours. But there are lots of other implications to the terms, and as always it really boils down to class - traditionally, workers' houses are terraced, while semi-detached are owned by the middle classes. (Someone will now jump on me to tell me that they are a duchess in a terrace - OBVIOUSLY these are generalisations, but semis are often considered more desirable than terraces).

A semi will generally have a bigger plot than a terrace and might be in a more suburban location than a terrace. Although it might be technically true, then, that an end terrace is semi-detached, I think that most people would agree that it's somewhat dishonest to describe it as such as the term has further meaning implied beyond its literal sense.

A ‘semi-detached’ property would therefore mean a half-detached property, i.e. one-half is detached and the other half is attached - to 1 other property; 10 other properties or 100 other properties, it doesn’t really matter. Therefore, the two end properties of a linked row of houses can be as a semi-detached property according to this online dictionary

It's not what an dictionary says, what an estate agent says or what a home owner thinks. If a home is an end of terrace is simply isn't true that it's only attached to one property even though it only has a party wall on one side.

It depends on the building techniques but there can be access throughout the entire loft space of the terrace, or timbers and structure which is dependent on the integrity of the whole.
Say for example there was a case of deathwatch beetle or woodworm in a terrace it's not beyond the realms of possibility that it could spread by stealth to the entire row - or, more likely, say, if serious fire broke out.
In a semi detached property two homes would be affected and then there would be a break, in an end of terrace home it's not beyond possibility that several could be affected by the same incidence.

As a counter example to InTheMiddle's point on class, our suburban area has a fantastic mix of housing: Georgian terraces; Victorian semis, terraces and detached mansions; edwardian semis; 1930s semis and bungalows; 1950s semis and terraces. It's like a patchwork quilt. While there are differences in price depending on the size and attractiveness of the house, because they're all on top of each other, there's no clear class divide in the area... It's one of the reasons we came here, and I recognise that it's not ubiquitous.

Terraces were built to be space-efficient, so even the ends of the terraces tend to have a slightly smaller plot than semis of the same period. Sometimes you get lucky with a big garden plot because a developer found they couldn't use it for anything else... Same can happen with any style of housing.

In our area, I'm pretty sure EoTs go for slightly less than semis of the same period (hard to judge objectively with all the other variables in price). As I see it, as long as you've got the house and garden you want, in the area you want, the reduced price is just a bonus.

By the OP's definition of semi, meaning half, when applied to a traditional semi, it surely means that it is one half of a detached building. So an end of terrace is not semi-detached, since it is less than one half of the entire building.

It's all down to common parlance though. I had a go at an agent who showed us a 'detached' house that was clearly a 'link-detached'. He wasn't happy!

If I were describing such a house, I'd probably say 'it's end of terrace, so it's basically semi-detached'.

I think we all know what the word semi means OP

Hen15's post demonstrates the benefits of semi-detached over end of terrace perfectly.

You may want to describe an end of terrace as semi-detached, but you'd be wrong.

Most people when they think of semi detached think of just two houses joined together, but I suppose if there were three houses joined together you could call the end two semi detached. Mostly people think of end terrace as quite afew houses joined together and the ones on the end are end terraces.
Apart from HenI5s example I can't really think of any other advantages to a semi over end terrace. I live in a sort of half cul-de-sac of semis with garages on the sides of the houses and have side access to the garden so although you probably wouldn't get a garage joined onto the house you'd still have side access to the garden in an end terrace, so probably not much difference really.

It would never have occurred to me that there was any issue with an end terrace being called semi-detached.

I live in a semidetached, what difference does it make to me if my linked-neighbour's house is also semi-detached or not?

Wiggly, no difference except you wouldn't be living in a semi detached.

wiggly it would make plenty of difference if you had a problem with a pest like rats or mice. They're very difficult to eradicate in a row of terraced houses.

Why did you ask a question, wait for responses, then post that everyone was wrong and answer your own question OP?