How does UKBA and UKVI decide if your property is overcrowded?
The UK Border Agency and UKVI ( UK Visa and Immigration) publish advice to assist those seeking to make an immigration application for settlement or other to show that their property is not overcrowding.
Residential Property Inspection Report
The basis for the Immigration authority is to consider the legal definition and whether your property is considered residential in purposes and that it meets those requirements set out in the Housing Act 1985.
As a general rule accommodation shall be considered inadequate if two individuals who are aged over ten share a single room and those individuals are not spouses.
A notable case of Pakistan 2004 UKAIT 000066 discussed the point of adequate accommodation in greater detail. The decision which was promulgated on the 4th September 2006 led to a new ‘test’ for the immigration directorate to consider when making a decision. The Immigration and Appeal Tribunal held that a simple calculation although a yardstick is not sufficient alone and that adequacy of accommodation ‘must be considered on an individual basis’
GENERAL STANDARDS
There are two methods of measuring your property.
1. The Space Standard – Property inspection Survey
For the purposes of deciding on the space standard any childen under the age of 1 do not count, and those aged over one but under 10 shall count as half a unit. Any one over 10 shall count as 1 unit.
A measurement is taken from all rooms considered sleeping rooms, the maximum permitted number in each room compared to how many individuals (units) permitted based on the space standard is set out in the table below:
Room floor area Number of persons permitted
110 sq. ft. to 110sq. ft. 2
90 sq. ft. to 110 sq.ft. 1½
70 sq. ft. to 90 sq. ft. 1
50 sq. ft. to 70 sq. ft. ½
Rooms which have an area of less than 50 square foot will not be considered for the purposes of this calculation
2. The Room Standard
Under the room standard a property inspection report will not take account of any children under the age of ten. A room will also be considered part of this calculation if it is a bedroom or a living room, one in which if necessary an individual can sleep, however kitchens and toilets do not count.
Below is a table showing the calculation used to decide whether your property is overcrowded for the purposes of your immigration and visa settlement case.
Rooms Available Number of permitted persons
1 2
2 3
3 5
4 7½
5 or more 2 for each
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