What is a “suitable” household?

Under the Standard, suitable housing is based on the following criteria:

• A maximum of 2 persons per bedroom.
• 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.
• Lone parents, of any age, have a separate bedroom from their children.
• Household members aged 18 or over have a separate bedroom, except those living as part of a married or common-law couple.
• Household members under 18 years of age of the same sex may share a bedroom, except lone parents and those living as part of a married or common-law couple.
• Household members under 5 years of age of the opposite sex may 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, and 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 1 individual living alone who may live in a studio apartment with no separate bedroom.