Mnemonic: voa_number_of_rooms
Applicability: Household
Type: Derived variable
Definition
A room can be any room in a dwelling apart from bathrooms, toilets, halls or landings, kitchens, conservatories or utility rooms. All other rooms, for example, living rooms, studies, bedrooms, separate dining rooms and rooms that can only be used for storage are included. If two rooms have been converted into one, they are counted as one room.
The number of rooms is recorded by address, this means that for households living in a shared dwelling the number of rooms are counted for the whole dwelling and not the individual household.
This definition is based on the Valuation Office Agency’s (VOA) definition.
Classification
Total number of categories: 9
| Code | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1 room |
| 2 | 2 rooms |
| 3 | 3 rooms |
| 4 | 4 rooms |
| 5 | 5 rooms |
| 6 | 6 rooms |
| 7 | 7 rooms |
| 8 | 8 rooms |
| 9 | 9 or more rooms |
View all number of rooms (VOA) classifications.
Quality information
It is inappropriate to measure change in number of rooms from 2011 to 2021, as Census 2021 used Valuation Office Agency data for this variable. Instead use Census 2021 estimates for number of bedrooms for comparisons over time.
Read more in our housing quality information for Census 2021 methodology.
Background
Read about how we developed and tested the questions for Census 2021.
Comparability with the 2011 Census
Not comparable
This variable cannot be compared with the variable used in the 2011 Census. This is because in Census 2021 the data are collected using administrative data instead of data from Census 2021.
What does not comparable mean?
A variable that is not comparable means that it cannot be compared with a variable from the 2011 Census.
England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland comparisons
Not comparable
This variable is not comparable as the data is not available for all countries.
What does not comparable mean?
A variable that is not comparable means that it cannot be compared for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Find out more about variables produced for Census 2021 in Northern Ireland and Census 2022 in Scotland.
Census 2021 data that uses this variable
We use variables from Census 2021 data to show findings in different ways.
You can:
Alternatively, you can also create a custom dataset.