Sims 4 – How to have more than 8 Sims in a household

Sometimes, eight Sims in a household just isn't enough for your gameplay in The Sims 4. That's where mods come in handy, augmenting your gaming experience.

We recommend two specific mods to extend your family size in The Sims 4, allowing you to have more than eight Sims in one household, whether it's a family full of dynamics or a group of roommates. Here's how to get them.

How to get more than 8 household members in The Sims 4

There are two reliable mods you can use to expand your household size. You can use the MCCC mod or the Larger Sims Households mod in order to achieve your desired effect. Getting the MC Command Center mod provides more than household expansion, all the way down to summoning Sims and killing townies. While the Larger Sims Households only expands the house size, it has a much smaller file size than MCCC.

Both mods are easy to download. Just follow either link in the name, go to the site, and download the files. You'll then unzip the files and move them to the Mods folder for Sims 4. Make sure to go into Settings and Enable Script Mods.

Beware of editing your Sims in CAS after adding Sims above the 8 Sim limit! For some reason, this can irreversibly erase a Sim from the household. The only way to fix the problem is revert to another save. There doesn't seem to be a way around this issue for Larger Sims Households. If you have MCCC, you can select to edit the outfit for that Sim alone via the MCCC controls (do not use the game's UI controls).

Why isn't the Larger Sims Households mod in The Sims 4 working?

It's not uncommon to find that a mod isn't working for you in The Sims 4, especially after a large update. If you find the the Larger Sims Households mod is not working, it's likely out of date and you'll have to wait for the mod creator to fix it. At that point, you can delete your old files and download the new (and improved) mod.

While it is possible that a mod in The Sims 4 isn't working due to an issue unrelated to EA updating the game, it's not as likely. Either way, you may want to consider an alternative mod like MC Command Center.

To be certain the Larger Sims Households mod isn't actually working and you're just having a problem on your end, make sure to:

• Check if the mod files is placed correctly in the Documents-Electronic Arts-The Sims 4-Mods path.
• Be certain that you have the mod files no more than one folder deep. For example, Documents-Electronic Arts-The Sims 4-Mods-Household is fine, but Documents-Electronic Arts-The Sims 4-Mods-Household-Larger is not.
• Check for updates from the EA App and the mod creator themselves.
• Try restarting your game and your PC.
• Be sure your have script mods enabled under Game Options in The Sims 4.

Related: What does WonderfulWhims do in Sims 4?

Can you expand household size in The Sims 4 without mods?

There is no actual way to have more than eight Sims in a single household without mods. EA and Maxis have created The Sims 4 this way to prevent the game from lagging, crashing, or having any other issues. If you want to try and find a way around this without mods, there isn't much you can do. The next best solution would be to put two households in lots right next to each other.

Related: Sims 4 – Best Mod Conflict Detectors

What's the maximum size for Sims in a household for The Sims 4?

As discussed in the other sections above, the most Sims a player can have in one household is eight Sims. This is just for how many playable Sims are in your household and includes both pets and infants/newborns. While pets aren't playable characters, Maxis/EA does consider them part of your Sims household.

The number of Sims on any given lot is slightly bigger, at 20 Sims maximum. If you download the MCCC mod described above, you can also expand (or reduce) the capacity for Sims on lots.

How many Sims can I have in a household with For Rent in The Sims 4?

If you have a rentable (called Residential Rental) unit lot with the For Rent expansion pack, the lot amounts are slightly different. You can have up to 6 units per lot, with up to 8 Sims in each unit (given they have adequate bedding). This means a total of 48 Sims on one lot is possible. Still, there are loading screens between each house on the lot, so the number in one household technically does not change.

Want to read more about The Sims 4? If so, check out How to Study Opponents in The Sims 4 on Pro Game Guides.