New rules to be signed off in Bristol allowing homes smaller than two parking spaces
The tiny flats will have to cover a minimum floor space of just 18 square metres
New rules are due to be signed off allowing so-called co-living homes to be built in Bristol which are smaller than two parking spaces.
These tiny flats will have to cover a minimum floor space of just 18 square metres, which is the same size as one and a half standard car parking spaces.
Bristol City Council has produced a guide for developers, setting out standards for new co-living homes. These tiny studios are similar to student flats, but designed for young professionals, and come with shared spaces like kitchens, living rooms and co-working desks for office workers.
Councillors on the economy and skills policy committee will vote on whether to adopt a new supplementary planning document on Monday, June 1. This includes space standards, what furniture should be in each room, and how large that should be as well.
A committee report said: “It is a relatively new form of accommodation in Bristol, with only a few purpose-built schemes having been completed in the city at present. It is anticipated that this form of development will be a more prominent feature of Bristol’s housing market in the coming years.”
The new planning rules aim to ensure future co-living developments are high quality, and will apply to all new developments in Bristol. Last year the council consulted developers and the public about the new supplementary planning document. This raised concerns that the minimum room size was too small. London also has a minimum room size of 18 square metres.
In response to these concerns, a council officer responded: “It has been determined that, combined with the standards expected for communal space, this size of unit can provide suitable living space for the occupant. The shorter-term occupancy and access to communal space makes this product unique; it is not intended to be a self-contained home.”
Normal studio flats for one person must have a floor space of at least 37 square metres, according to the government’s Nationally Described Space Standard — more than double the new co-living rules in Bristol. However co-living flats don’t need to heed this standard, because in theory residents can spend time in the communal areas within the building.
According to the supplementary planning document, co-living developments aim to “create an intentional community by bringing together people in a communal residential environment that allows the sharing of resources and costs”. However in practice, questions have been raised about whether residents are choosing these benefits or face limited options due to high rents.
When a city centre co-living development was approved in 2024, former Green Cllr Tom Hathway said: “I question whether the people moving into these new co-living developments will really want the social aspect, or are just people who are bearing the brunt of the housing shortage and living in small studio flats and not making the most of the social engagement.”
Later that year Liberal Democrat Cllr Andrew Brown, chair of the economy committee, warned that co-living rooms shouldn’t become “just some sort of glorified student accommodation”. Developers don’t have to adhere to normal space standards for student flats, because residents don’t live there in the long term, and so are expected to put up with much smaller homes.
Speaking to the press in 2024, Cllr Brown said: “We need to ensure that the private spaces that individuals have are of a decent size, and allows them privacy and allows them to have people come to visit, and that they have enough space away from the shared areas. We’ll look at how well other authorities have approached this, and get the best practice or look to be even better, to forge our own best practice.”