Trapped In Homes That Are Too Small

 Average family loses 11sq ft of space in just three years

Millions of families are being squashed into homes that are too small, with one in eight children now enduring overcrowding.

In the past three years the average family has lost 11 sq ft of living space, an alarming study shows.

Many families are trapped in homes that are too small because they cannot afford to buy or rent a larger property.

Budge up: Families are stretching their living space more than ever by converting lofts and in extreme cases, using cupboards as living space

Squeezed in: Modern families are facing increasingly smaller living spaces because they can't afford to move to a bigger property

Often they 'stretch' their space by converting the loft or garage into an extra bedroom, said the report by investment firm LV.  

In extreme cases they are turning cupboards into living areas. Some families even risk unsafe extensions.

Many 'space-starved parents' are squashed into a two-bedroom home that was fine when they were a young couple but has no space for their children.

With the average home doubling in price to about £160,000 over the  past decade, grown-up children often cannot afford to leave.

Many do not want to live with their parents but are unable to rent or get on the property ladder, adding to the 'big squeeze'.

Overall, the average size of a family home, which is defined as one containing at least one parent and one child, has shrunk from about 937.8 sq ft in 2008 to 927.3 sq ft today.

For a home to be the right size, the parents must have their own bedroom, according to Government guidance.

Children aged under ten can share, as well as same-sex children between the age of ten and 20. A child over 21 needs their own bedroom.

The report estimated nearly 200,000 children are living in bedrooms that have been partitioned to create two smaller spaces.

It said the squash was also fuelled by a rise in people working from home, converting a bedroom, cupboard or even a corridor into a home office. John O’Roarke of LV Home Insurance said: 'British families are feeling the squeeze as they are being forced to live in smaller homes than are suitable.

'Many are resorting to desperate measures to create extra space.'

Tanya de Grunwald of job-hunting website Graduate Fog said the situation was extremely frustrating for those in their twenties or thirties.

She said: 'They want to be earning their own money and sharing a flat with friends, not living at home with Mum and Dad and having to ask for money for their bus fare.'

A separate report, from the Halifax, said property sales have plummeted over the past decade.

From January to June this year there were just over 270,000 homes sold in England and Wales, compared with more than 530,000 in the first half of 2001.

The cost of stamp duty, which is charged at up to five per cent on homes above £1million, is also stopping many families from moving.

But in some areas property sales are picking up. In Bury, they have jumped 44 per cent in the past year.

Source:- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2048924/Trapped-homes-small-Average-family-loses-11sq-ft-space-just-years.html