It is important we make sure social housing properties are used appropriately and are not under or over occupied.
To do this, we use a bedroom entitlement calculator and assign a bedroom number to Housing Register applications. This means the applicant may only place bids on suitably sized properties for their needs.
Benefits and Universal Credit use the same bedroom entitlement guide to calculate the local housing allowance a household is eligible for. This makes the calculator a useful tool for both social housing and private rental sector properties.
Standard bedroom needs
We base the number of bedrooms needed on the number, age and sex of the people who form a household. We calculate the bedroom requirement as follows:
- One bedroom for a couple who are married, in a civil partnership or cohabiting as if they were married or in a civil partnership
- One bedroom for any other person aged 16 or over
- One bedroom for any two children of the same sex aged at least 10 and under 16
- One bedroom for any two children regardless of sex aged less than 10
- One bedroom for any other child
- One additional bedroom for each carer of a member of the household who is disabled or has a long-term health condition, provided that it is essential that overnight care of that member of the household is provided by a non-resident carer
Children shared between two households
If you have children who have shared access with a separated parent, we will allocate bedrooms according to the standard bedroom needs if:
- You are the parent who the child / children lives with for the majority of the time
and - You are the parent in receipt of the child benefit for the child / children
Calculate how many bedrooms you're eligible for
Live applicants on the Housing Register can check how many bedrooms they're eligible for using their Housing Jigsaw account.
Potential applicants can check how many bedrooms they may be eligible for using either:
- Bedroom calculator on the DirectGov website
- Bedroom entitlement example - shows examples of different household compositions and property types (BS = bedsit)
Extra bedroom requests
In some cases, we may be able to allocate an extra bedroom. One or more of the following criteria must apply:
- You, or a member of your household, has care provided by a non-resident carer who has to sleep in overnight
- There is a disabled child in your household who is unable to share a bedroom because of the care and attention they receive in relation to their disability
- You are an approved foster carer
- You have adult children who are in the Armed Forces but who continue to live with you when not deployed on operations
If one of the above criteria apply to your situation, please complete the 'Extra Bedroom Request Form'. If none of the above apply, it's unlikely we can award you an extra bedroom.
Bungalows and adapted properties
We designate some properties for occupation by certain groups of people. For example, when allocating bungalows or adapted properties, we give preference to households with mobility or disability needs that satisfy medical assessment criteria.
