Townhouses with English basements

An English basement is an apartment (flat in UK English) on the lowest floor of a building, generally a townhouse or brownstone, which is partially below and partially above ground level and which has its own entrance separate from those of the rest of the building.[1]

Realty

English basements are sometimes rented out separately from the main dwelling, either by a single landlord who owns both portions of the building or by a tenant of the building who sub-lets the English basement. English basements are most common in larger, older cities like London, Edinburgh, New York City, Boston, and Washington, D.C.[2]

Phrase

In other cities, such as Chicago and San Francisco, this space is referred to as a "garden apartment". The phrase "English basement" is mostly an Americanism. In Québec, in both English and French, this space is known as a "demi sous-sol," literally a "half-basement." In the United Kingdom, this style of apartment is usually known as a "garden flat" so long as it connects to a rear garden; the level of the property is referred to as "lower ground". The origin of the term "English basement" dates back to at least the mid-19th century. The earliest citation in the OED is 1853 ("1853 N.Y. Daily Times 8 July 5/3 (advt.) House for sale... A new three-story English basement house."). Some people refer to it as the "garden level". Building codes in most cities use neither of the phrases, stating that any floor partly below grade-level is simply a "basement" and a floor more than 50% below grade-level is a "cellar".

See also

References

  1. ↑ Holder, Sarah (2021-09-14). "How the English Basements of Washington, D.C., Came Into Their Own". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  2. ↑ Nesbit, Josephine (June 6, 2022). "What Is an English Basement?". US News. Retrieved February 2, 2022.


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