maisonette

Imagine a cozy apartment, but instead of everything being on one level, it has its own staircase connecting two floors. That's what people usually mean by "maisonette." The word comes from French and means "little house," which is a helpful clue: it feels like having a small home tucked inside a larger building.

You'll hear this term most often in British English, especially in property listings in places like London. A maisonette is not a detached house; it is part of a larger building, but it often feels more private than a standard flat. One of its main features is that it usually has its own front door leading outside, instead of being reached only through a shared indoor hallway. For example: "They were thrilled to find a beautiful maisonette in Notting Hill."

A maisonette is a self-contained apartment, usually arranged over two floors, within a larger building. The term comes from the French word for "little house" (maisonnette), which reflects the sense of living in a small home even though it is part of a bigger structure.

While people sometimes use it in a similar way to "duplex," there are regional differences. In the UK, "maisonette" is the more familiar everyday term. A maisonette typically has its own private entrance, either directly from the street or from an outside landing. This helps distinguish it from a split-level flat, which may also have more than one level but is often reached through a shared indoor hallway.

The term is a regular part of British English, especially when people talk about housing in cities such as London or Brighton. You might find maisonettes created from older Victorian or Edwardian houses, where the space keeps some of the feel of a house while still being part of a divided building.

For example: "After years of renting cramped flats, they finally purchased a spacious three-bedroom maisonette with its own front door and a balcony overlooking the park." Or, "The building offered a mix of one-bedroom flats and larger, family-sized maisonettes." While the term is occasionally used in other English-speaking countries, it remains most characteristic of the UK property market.