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English language (monolingual) [PRO] Real Estate / construction
English term or phrase:one-family home/two-family home
The Silent-PP drainage plug-in system made up of robust three-layer pipes is ideal for use in the stack and for quick, cost-efficient and sound-optimized floor connection in multiple-storey residential construction or comprehensively in one-family and two-family homes
Explanation: To avoid the problems of differing meanings in different versions of English. I've tried to give a fit-all definition. Also, it might be best to avoid the word "family", which can also open a tin of worms (or a can of worms in EN-US).
Why a Housing Code? ... Every occupant of a single dwelling building (and every owner of a building containing two or more dwelling units) ... co.st-johns.fl.us/CodeEnforcement/HousingCode.aspx
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The above solution has the advantage that it doesn't matter whether the two-dwelling building is split horizontally or vertically.
So, the current definition of an HMO (unlike the definition prior to the 2004 Housing Act) is not just based on the characteristics of the building, but also on its use. So, if a person takes more than two lodgers into their home, it becomes an HMO for the period that there are three or more lodgers and has to be licensed and comply with various safety regulations. The age of the building has nothing to do with it.
No, that house in Björn's reference wasn't a semi-detached, it was a detached house split into two flats/apartments. To further complicated things, "a landed property" in British English means, at the very least, a large country house with several acres of land, possibly including a farm or two. It doesn't mean a house with a garden, which is what the NY Times seems to mean by the expression!
@Tony:
Since the Housing Act 2004:
"Generally a house in multiple occupation will be a property which has:
More than 1 household and more than 2 people 3 or more storeys (this includes cellars, basements, loft conversions and flats above pubs or shops) Facilities such as bathrooms or kitchens are shared
Therefore, bedsits, shared houses and some self-contained flats may be HMO properties.
building regulation standards. This will, as a minimum, be the 1991 regulations.
While HMO is indeed often used for things like student bedsists that share a kitchen and probably bathroom, I have also seen it used (officially) for (often) older houses converted into small bedsit units that do have their own facilities.
Tony is right, of course. Most likely, this is the German Einfamilien- and Zweifamilienhaus. Both of these are not part of an apartment complex, but how many stories(AE)/storeys(BE) is anyone's guess.
@Tony Thanks for the explanation!
RE HMO: I thought in HMOs, you share the bathroom, etc.--or as they put it, "share one or more basic amenities"? https://www.basingstoke.gov.uk/hmo
In BE at least, a house divided by floors would not be called a '2 family home' (and as you say, certainly not 'semi-detached'!) — it would simply be 'a house arranged as two flats'
For the purposes of this document, I think it needs simply to be regarded as single-occupancy vs. multiple-occupancy dwellings / residential properties. In BE, we use the abbreviation HMO, see this Wiki article:
Houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), also known as houses of multiple occupancy, is a British English term which refers to residential properties where ...
...since the crux of the matter appears to be a question of sound isolation.
There is no way of telling what kind of 'house' they are — that's why the word 'home' is used, as it makes no implication whatsoever as to the actual type of dwelling. 'one family' definitiely implies a building that is separate from any other, while the implication of '2-family' is that it is 2 dwellings joined together. As the headquarters is CH, it seems likely this is a dubious tranlsation into EN from the DE term as mentioned elsewhere.
This is why it was important to know the origin of the text, as I don't think this is necessarily following normal US practice.
This may be of interest: "Property is split into two categories: landed properties, which are typically single-family homes; and non-landed homes, such as condominiums and apartments. Non-Singapore residents cannot buy landed property in Singapore without special approval, except in Sentosa Cove, the one area where foreigners are allowed to buy both landed and non-landed homes." https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/30/realestate/real-estate-in...
It gets even more complicated in the U.S.: "Single-family housing refers to properties with one to four units. [...] Multifamily housing refers to properties with five or more units." https://www.fhfaoig.gov/Content/Files/WPR-2017-002.pdf
"'Single-family housing' means real property and improvements thereon consisting of a one, two, three or four unit dwelling, one unit of which is occupied as a principal residence by the owner of the units,..." https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/462C.02
However, at least in the U.S., there's no reason to change anything, despite what someone had said not that long ago. In German, there isn't any reason for it either.
I can find UK sources such as this one, though: "It is proposed to split numbers 26 and 27 into two separate units at lower ground to third floors, returning the property back to its original form as two family dwellings." https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/idoxWAM/doc/Other-1270419.pdf?extens...
As I noted to Tony below, to give an accurate answer, we not only need to know the target version of English required, but also what country these homes are in. What is meant might be quite different in the context of that country/region.
The following is an example of problems that can arise when translating across cultural contexts. Many years ago, an African friend told me he grew up in an orphanage because he didn't think I'd understand his situation of having been brought up in the compound that housed the extended family of his parents' friends, who took him in after his parents died and later adopted him. He'd got into the habit of telling people in England that he grew up in an orphanage and was then adopted, because it was easier than giving a long explanation to people who didn't know what a compound was like. It was only much later when I visited him in West Africa and met his family that he explained.
Note that, as explained in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duplex_(building), the terms used in the US and in Britain are significantly different and in the UK "duplex" doesn't mean a "two-family home", e.g. a pair of semi-detached houses would be considered as two homes, not one home for two families.
I suspect you are looking for EN-US, because a "two-family home" isn't something one tends to find in Britain, but it would be useful if you specified the version of English you want.
Apologies to Australians! I note that the terminology there is different again, as explained in the Wikipedia article above.
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single-family home/duplex (see definition below)
Explanation: One-family home is also known as a "single-family home". Definition of single-family detached home. single-family detached home. 1. A building that is occupied by one family and is not attached to another building, as opposed to a duplex which is a building that houses two families. Also known as a "single family home," "separate house" or "single detached dwelling."
How to Finance and Live in a Two-Family Home | Ask a Lender https://www.askalender.com/.../how-to-finance-and-live-in-a-... 11 ene. 2017 - If you're looking to buy a home to live in, consider purchasing a **two-family home, also known as a duplex.** By renting out the other unit, you'll be ..
Taña Dalglish Jamaica Local time: 14:12 Works in field Native speaker of: English
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