House Adverts Mislead Homebuyers About Bedroom Sizes

• September 1, 2016|
• News|
• Darren Clarke

Homebuyers may be slightly disappointed when they receive the keys to their new property if they open the door and find out they have less space than they expected.

This may happen to almost half of househunters, as 48 per cent of properties in the top ten cities in Britain had their bedroom sizes listed incorrectly, Direct Line’s SELECT Premier Insurance revealed.

Out of 350 four and five-bed homes, 36 per cent had bedrooms listed as ‘singles’. However, as they were smaller than 50 square feet, they were too small for anyone over the age of ten to live in, according to the Housing Act 1985. A ‘single’ bedroom for an adult, on the other hand, should be between 50 and 70 square feet.

The findings also showed 17 per cent of ‘double’ bedrooms are too small for two adults, who need at least 110 square feet of space.

Head of SELECT Premier Insurance Nick Brabham said: “We urge buyers to check the measurements of bedrooms before putting in an offer on a house, otherwise they may find their ‘double’ bedroom barely has enough space for a bed.”

New homeowners may need to do more renovation work than they anticipated if they are short of space. As well as install a conservatory in their Manchester home, they might also have to invest in an extension to get the bedroom they need.

With house prices having grown by 8.7 per cent in the 12 months leading to June 2016, according to the Land Registry’s UK House Price Index, this could be an additional expense homebuyers simply cannot afford.