Bedsit
Encyclopedia
A bedsit, also known as a bed-sitting room, is a form of rented accommodation common in Great Britain
and Ireland
consisting of a single room and shared bathroom; they are part of a legal category of dwellings referred to as Houses in multiple occupation.
Bedsits arose from the subdivision of larger dwellings into small low-cost accommodations at low conversion cost. In the UK a growing desire for personal independence after World War II
led to a reduced demand for traditional boarding house
s with communal dining.
Bedsits are often occupied by young single people, students, those unable to purchase their own properties, or those whose occupancy, for one reason or another, is of a transitory nature; the cost is typically lower than that of private property.
Someone living and working in different areas may rent
a bedsit at low cost to reduce daily travel.
The American
equivalents to a bedsit are single room occupancy
(SRO) and rooming house
. By comparison, a studio apartment
(also known as a studio flat in the United Kingdom) is a one-room apartment with a small adjoining kitchen and a private bathroom.
A bedsit can also be compared to a Soviet
communal apartment
, in which a common kitchen, bathroom, toilet, and telephone are shared by several families, each of which lives in a single room opening up onto a common hallway.
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
consisting of a single room and shared bathroom; they are part of a legal category of dwellings referred to as Houses in multiple occupation.
Bedsits arose from the subdivision of larger dwellings into small low-cost accommodations at low conversion cost. In the UK a growing desire for personal independence after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
led to a reduced demand for traditional boarding house
Boarding house
A boarding house, is a house in which lodgers rent one or more rooms for one or more nights, and sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months and years. The common parts of the house are maintained, and some services, such as laundry and cleaning, may be supplied. They normally provide "bed...
s with communal dining.
Bedsits are often occupied by young single people, students, those unable to purchase their own properties, or those whose occupancy, for one reason or another, is of a transitory nature; the cost is typically lower than that of private property.
Someone living and working in different areas may rent
Renting
Renting is an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property owned by another. A gross lease is when the tenant pays a flat rental amount and the landlord pays for all property charges regularly incurred by the ownership from landowners...
a bedsit at low cost to reduce daily travel.
The American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
equivalents to a bedsit are single room occupancy
Single Room Occupancy
A single room occupancy is a multiple-tenant building that houses one or two people in individual rooms , or to the single room dwelling itself...
(SRO) and rooming house
Boarding house
A boarding house, is a house in which lodgers rent one or more rooms for one or more nights, and sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months and years. The common parts of the house are maintained, and some services, such as laundry and cleaning, may be supplied. They normally provide "bed...
. By comparison, a studio apartment
Studio apartment
A studio apartment, also known as a studio flat , efficiency apartment or bachelor/bachelorette style apartment, is a small apartment which combines living room, bedroom, and kitchen or kitchenette into a single room...
(also known as a studio flat in the United Kingdom) is a one-room apartment with a small adjoining kitchen and a private bathroom.
A bedsit can also be compared to a Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
communal apartment
Kommunalka
A communal apartment or kommunalka appeared in the Soviet Union after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, as a product of the “new collective vision of the future” and as a response to the housing crisis in urban areas. A communal apartment typically consisted of an apartment shared between two to...
, in which a common kitchen, bathroom, toilet, and telephone are shared by several families, each of which lives in a single room opening up onto a common hallway.