Shared accommodation offers more than an individual bedroom, but the space available for everyday life can vary sharply. Research published by SpareRoom in 2025 highlighted the trade-off between cheaper rent and somewhere for housemates to spend time together.
In an online survey of 2,008 respondents, collected between 21 February and 6 March, 49% said their current home’s living room was being used as a bedroom. That finding describes the surveyed group; it should not be treated as a census of every shared property in Britain.
Among respondents without access to a living room, 54% felt their relationship with housemates had suffered, while 46% said they never socialised together. These were reported experiences, not evidence that a particular layout inevitably causes the same outcome for everyone.
Affordability complicated the picture. SpareRoom found that 36% of renters would consider giving up communal space for a rent reduction. Yet 43% of respondents already living without a lounge believed their rent was no cheaper. A missing room did not automatically translate into an obvious saving.
The issue also predates that survey. In a separate article drawing on research from 2019, SpareRoom described the practical difficulty of building relationships when a kitchen or bedroom is the only place to meet. That earlier commentary should be distinguished from the newer statistics rather than combined into one trend figure.
For someone comparing homes, the useful question is therefore about usable space, not simply the number of bedrooms. Is there somewhere to eat together, accommodate a guest or relax away from a bed? A listing’s room count cannot answer those questions on its own.
For landlords, the findings invite consideration of how a shared home actually functions. More sleeping spaces and a comfortable shared environment are different measures of a property’s usefulness.
This account retains the November 2025 archive context and reports survey perceptions with their limitations, rather than presenting them as universal conclusions.