Around 48% of homes for sale across the UK contain at least one room that is listed incorrectly, according to research by Direct Line’s Select Premier Insurance.

The analysis of 350 four and five bed houses for sale across ten of the UK’s biggest cities, found over a third (36%) of bedrooms rooms listed as ‘singles’ are, in fact, too small for anyone over the age of 10.

The firm reported: ‘According to the Housing Act 1985 a child under the age of 10 can occupy a room which is less than 50 sq ft because they are classed as ‘half a person’, however a single bedroom should have a floor space of 50-70 sq ft.

For one in six (17%) properties the double bedrooms are exceptionally small and would barely house two people. The Housing Act 1985 references that, to avoid overcrowding, double bedrooms for two people should be at least 110 sq ft, however one property in Liverpool advertised a 69 sq ft sized room as a double bedroom.

A further 6% of bedrooms across the UK are technically uninhabitable, containing bedrooms smaller than the 50 sq ft to be classified as a single bedroom.