Almost half of all British families own the houses in which they live. In order to buy a house a family in Britain does not need to have all the money. There are many special banks from which it is possible to borrow uo to 90 % of the value of the house. Of course, not everyone wishes to buy a house and renting is very common, too.

There are several types of houses in Britain : a terraced house, a semidatached house, a detached house, a bungalow and a cottage. Terraced houses are built in a row and are joined one to another to form a street. Two houses joined together by one common wall are called semi-detached houses. A detached house stands by itself and is not joined to another house. A bungalow is a one-storey house. A cottage is a small village house.

Some people live in flats not houses. A flat is situated on one floor and is designet for one family. A flat forms a part of blocks of flats. It may be very large with nearly as much space as the house, or it may also be one room with kitchen and bathroom.

A typical Briticsh house is set in a small garden and has two storeys. It is usually designed for a family of four ar five people. There is a hall, a front room, a back room, a kitchen, a pantry and a storage space downstairs. A garage is attached to the house. Upstairs, there is one big bedroom and two smaller ones, a bathroom and lavatory. In comparison to the houses built some fifty years ago, modern houses have central or gas heating installed and the windows double –glazed.

The front room is a sitting room with a fireplace, sette and the arm-chairs, the wall unit with hi-fi system, television and video, bookcase and a coffe table. There is a carpet on the floor to make the room warm and comfortable. The back room is a dining room containing a table, four or more chairs, and a sideboard. The kitchen furniture includes the kitchen cupboards, sink, stove and fridge-freezer. They are all built in. There is also a table with stools. The floor in the kitchen is tiled. The big room upstairs is the parents bedroom. It has a double-bed, built-in wardrobes, dressing table with a mirror on the wall and a stool in front of the table. The small rooms are bedrooms for children or spare rooms for guests of the family.

A typical British house has a garden as the British people take of gardening. A beautiful well-kept lawn is a pride of every British family. The British like to spend their free time in their houses.