Classification of housing suitability

Usage

The NOS derives the number of bedrooms a household requires as follows:

1. A maximum of two persons per bedroom.

2. Household members, of any age, living as part of a married or common-law couple share a bedroom with their spouse or common-law partner.

3. Parents in a one-parent family, of any age, have a separate bedroom.

4. Household members aged 18 or over have a separate bedroom - except those living as part of a married or common-law couple.

5. Household members under 18 years old of the same sex share a bedroom - except parents in a one-parent family and those living as part of a married or common-law couple.

6. Household members under 5 years old of the opposite sex share a bedroom if doing so would reduce the number of required bedrooms. This situation would arise only in households with an odd number of males under 18, an odd number of females under 18, and at least one female and one male under the age of 5.

An exception to the above is a household consisting of one individual living alone. Such a household would not need a bedroom (i.e., the individual may live in a studio apartment and be considered to be living in suitable accommodations).

Data presentations and other publications that use the housing suitability standard should include the following citation note:

Housing suitability and the National Occupancy Standard (NOS) on which it is based were developed by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) through consultations with provincial housing agencies.