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Find out how many bedrooms your household is entitled to under the bedroom standard — before you waste time on a swap that won't get approved.
When you apply for a mutual exchange, your landlord checks whether the new property is the right size for your household. If the swap would leave you over-occupying (too many people, not enough bedrooms) or significantly under-occupying (too many spare rooms), it can be refused.
Most councils in England and Wales follow the bedroom standard — a set of rules laid out by the government. This calculator uses those rules to give you an estimate, so you know what size property to search for.
This calculator gives guidance based on the standard rules. Your council may apply these slightly differently — always check with your housing officer if you're unsure. For official guidance, see GOV.UK bedroom entitlement rules and EntitledTo.co.uk for benefits calculations.
Add each child with their age and sex so we can work out sharing rules.
Based on the bedroom standard, your household needs:
You should be looking for properties with . Your landlord may also approve a swap into a property with one bedroom more than you need, but this depends on your council's policy. Swapping into a property with fewer bedrooms than you need is unlikely to be approved.
The bedroom standard is used by most councils and housing associations in England and Wales to decide how many bedrooms a household needs. Here are the rules:
One bedroom for each adult couple — if two adults are in a relationship, they share one bedroom.
One bedroom for each remaining adult (16+) — any adult not in a couple gets their own room.
Two children under 10 can share — regardless of sex. A boy and girl under 10 can share a room.
Two children of the same sex aged 10-15 can share — but a boy and girl aged 10+ must have separate rooms.
Any remaining child gets their own room — if a child can't be paired, they need a separate bedroom.
Find real home swap listings that match your bedroom needs.
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