Children sharing a bedroom english laws

[traciemoors0]

In England at what age should a brother and sister not share a bedroom

[factor-fiction]

This comes up a lot on AB. I do not believe that there are laws about this.
How could they be policed? How could they be enforced? Many families with 4 or more children simply can't afford to buy houses with enough bedrooms? The council may take it into account but only if there are bigger houses available.

[redcrx]

i believe its the only crime for which the parents can be hanged.

[hc4361]

When the youngest is 10, but it is not considered overcrowding if it is due to natural growth.
The law counts all rooms, not just bedrooms, so they take into account the living room and the kitchen if it is large enough.
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repai rs_and_bad_conditions/overcrowding

[ummmm312]

My Dad was raised in a two bedroom house that had 13 children. They had a curtain across the room to separate the boys from the girls.

[tamborine]

As 1 of 5 I often shared br with bruvs......far more fun than with prissy sis. 'Course we all made our own way from 18+. I still share with bruv on hols.

no - we dont hanky-panky with each other; yuk!

[redcrx]

hc, does that cover privately owned homes? or just council ones? Will the goverment step in and buy a larger house or pay my extra mortgage should i need more bdrooms?

[factor-fiction]

hc4361's response refers to shelter's site on overcrowding, but it seems to me that only applies in limited circumstances and can be used to increase your chances of getting a bigger council house or increase your chances of being evicted!

And the definition only applies if the total number of rooms (including living rooms and large kitchens) is insufficient to keep the sexes separate.

I can't see that it will ever be come an issue if you own the home. How could it be policed- night time raids? How could it be enforced- take your kids into care? Force you to build an extension?

[hc4361]

redcrx, if the overcrowding is due to natural growth such as children getting older or the family expanding, it is not illegal.
Overcrowding applies to landlord and tenants, not owner/occupiers.
The landlord can quite rightly insist the boys share a room with dad, the girls share with mum, or mum and dad sleep in the lounge, provided the rooms are big enough for the number of people.