# UK Dopers: What happened to Bedsits?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-what-happened-to-bedsits/599343
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [October 11, 2011, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-what-happened-to-bedsits/599343 "2011-10-11T20:16:43Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2011, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-what-happened-to-bedsits/599343/1 "2011-10-11T20:16:43Z")
Bedsits in my opinion are great, you get your own kitchen area, whilst sharing the bathroom facilities, you’re basically left alone enough not to be hassling people if you were sharing a house and renting a room, but I’ve noticed as of late that this type of dwelling is becoming rarer, it’s either house shares which I loathe, or apartments which are too expensive. So why have bedsits seemed to be phased out?
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### Author:  [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2011, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-what-happened-to-bedsits/599343/2 "2011-10-11T20:37:28Z")
My suspicion is that stricter fire regulations for HMOs (House in Multiple Occupation, which covers both bedsits and the now-more-common student-type house share) make them impractical or impossible. And with good reason, because HMOs have always had much higher incidences of injuries and death from fire than other types of residence.
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### Author:  [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2011, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-what-happened-to-bedsits/599343/3 "2011-10-11T20:39:20Z")
Not certain I completely understand what that is: But I’d certainly rather have a private bath and a shared kitchen than what you describe.
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### Author:  [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2011, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-what-happened-to-bedsits/599343/4 "2011-10-11T21:12:34Z")
I would rather have a ‘studio’ which is a big room with kitchen facilities [or some means of food storage and prep like a cube fridge and a microwave] and an additional room that is the bathroom.
I detest sharing kitchen or bathroom facilities. [I came home one time to find a roughly 50 year old well seasoned wok scrubbed shiney and run through the dishwasher by a ‘helpful’ roommate 😕:eek::smack::mad:]
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### Author:  [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2011, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-what-happened-to-bedsits/599343/5 "2011-10-12T03:22:20Z")
I always wondered what “bedsit” meant, ever since I heard “bedsit people sit back and lament” line in the spoken word section of “Nights In White Satin”.
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### Author:  [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2011, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-what-happened-to-bedsits/599343/6 "2011-10-12T05:38:06Z")
> [@aruvqan](#):
>
> I would rather have a ‘studio’ which is a big room with kitchen facilities [or some means of food storage and prep like a cube fridge and a microwave] and an additional room that is the bathroom.
>
> I detest sharing kitchen or bathroom facilities. [I came home one time to find a roughly 50 year old well seasoned wok scrubbed shiney and run through the dishwasher by a ‘helpful’ roommate 😕:eek::smack::mad:]
I’d also much prefer having a studio to myself than have to share a bathroom or kitchen with a roomie. It’s bad enough that I have to share the kitchen with my husband, who doesn’t understand the notion that using a knife in a non-stick pot will scrape off the non-stick bit in that area.
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### Author:  [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2011, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-what-happened-to-bedsits/599343/7 "2011-10-12T11:53:31Z")
> [@installLSC](#):
>
> I always wondered what “bedsit” meant, ever since I heard “bedsit people sit back and lament” line in the spoken word section of “Nights In White Satin”.
Short for “bed/sitting room”, i.e. a living space without a separate bedroom. Sometimes with its own basic cooking facilities or a washbasin, but the distinction between a bedsit and a studio is usually that a studio is totally self-contained, while a bedsit has some shared facilities.
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### Author:  [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2011, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-what-happened-to-bedsits/599343/8 "2011-10-12T13:52:40Z")
> [@TruCelt](#):
>
> Not certain I completely understand what that is: But I’d certainly rather have a private bath and a shared kitchen than what you describe.
That was my first thought on reading the OP as well.
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### Author:  [@SecondJudith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecondJudith)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2011, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-what-happened-to-bedsits/599343/9 "2011-10-12T14:01:45Z")
I lived in one just after university, in Cricklewood. It was grim and my landlord tried to swindle me out of the deposit. I also suspect tighter fire codes.
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### Author:  [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2011, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-what-happened-to-bedsits/599343/10 "2011-10-12T14:28:42Z")
“Bedsitter people sit back and lament” I always pictured old folks confined to bed. Actually, I get the visual of the Grandparents from the original Willy Wonka movie. . . LOL!