Standards for Houses of Multiple Occupation

Standards for Houses of Multiple Occupation A guide to understanding the basic standards for Houses of Multiple Occupation. Housing Standards, Portsmouth City Council, Guildhall Square, Portsmouth, PO1 2AZ, Telephone: 023 9268 8369 Email: housing.privatesector@portsmouthcc.gov.uk May 2014 1

STANDARDS FOR HOUSES IN MULTIPLE OCCUPATION (HMO) N.B. HMO owners and their agents are advised to ensure that any HMO does not contravene any Planning restrictions or requirements. The granting of an HMO licence does not confer any Planning permission or status. 1.0 General Information This guidance has been produced by Portsmouth City Council for Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO), to assist owners and tenants to understand their legal responsibilities and obligations and what standards tenants should expect in such accommodation. All HMOs are subject to the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006, as amended. Further guidance on this can be found within this document and from this website www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006/372/contents/made This guidance indicates what amenities and facilities that will be sought for all HMO's within our area. It has been compiled to comply with the Licensing and Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Additional Provisions)(England) Regulation 2007, in addition to the requirement of the 2006 Regulation and other parts of the Act. 1.2 Definitions 1.2.1 House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006, as amended at least 3 tenants live there, forming 2 or more households they share toilet, bathroom or kitchen facilities with other tenants A household consists of either a single person or members of the same family who live together. It includes people who are married or living together and people in same-sex relationships www.gov.uk/private-renting/houses-in-multiple-occupation 1.2.2 A Section 257 HMO. The Licensing and Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Additional Provisions) (England) Regulations 2007 came into force on 1 st October 2007. These regulations apply to section 257 Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs). A building converted into, and consisting entirely of self-contained flats AND The standard of conversion does not meet at least that required by the Building Regulations 1991 and Less than two-third of the flats are owner occupied. 2

2.0 Facilities 2.1 Heating A wall mounted, fixed form of space heating shall be provided in all rooms, including bathrooms and WC compartments (depending on the location of the WC). The heating system shall be capable of maintaining a constant temperature of at least 22 C in bathrooms, 21 C in living and sleeping rooms, and 18 C in all other rooms and circulation areas. The heating shall be available to all tenants at all times. Control over the amount of heating in each unit of accommodation shall be under the control of the occupying tenant, and the method of heating shall be safe and where practicable be efficient and affordable. Where heating is provided by a central heating system, including to common parts, the fuel supply shall be via a dedicated supply, not a key or card meter (except where a system is exclusive to an individual unit of accommodation). 2.2 Personal Hygiene Wherever reasonably practicable, each unit of accommodation shall be provided with a wash-hand basin, except where there is exclusive use of a sink. Otherwise, there shall be provided a minimum of one wash-hand basin for every five occupiers, to be situated within a shared bathroom. Definition of a bathroom is: A room which contains the following amenities, a bath and/or shower, a Water Closet and wash hand basin. Where these facilities are not exclusive, there shall be provided at the required frequencies as detailed below. Wherever reasonably practicable, all rooms containing a WC shall also contain a washhand basin. Otherwise, a wash-hand basin must be provided in a readily accessible position within the vicinity of the room containing the WC. No unit of accommodation shall be more than two floors distance from a bathroom or WC compartment. All facilities for personal hygiene shall be located within proper rooms or compartments. External water closets shall be ignored. All bath or shower rooms shall have a suitable layout and shall be of sufficient size (3.74m 2 for full size bathroom and 2.74m² for a shower room) to include adequate drying and changing space. The wall finishes and flooring shall be readily cleansable, the flooring wellfitted and non-absorbent, and a suitable lock provided to the door of each bathroom or shower room. 3

All baths, showers and wash-hand basins shall be provided with adequate and constantly available hot and cold water supplied via suitable fittings and shall be properly connected to the soil drainage system. All baths and wash-hand basins shall be provided with glazed tiled (or equivalent) splash backs to a minimum height 450mm, where practicable. Showers shall be provided in purpose-made or properly constructed cubicles, or where showers are located over baths shall be behind a well fitted screen or curtain. All WCs shall be provided with a suitable seat and must be securely fixed. They shall be properly connected to the soil drainage system and the cisterns provided with an adequate and constantly available supply of water. Numbers of facilities to be provided are: SCHEDULE OF AMENITY STANDARDS IN RELATION TO NUMBER OF PERSONS 1-4 persons 5 persons At least 1 bathroom and 1 WC (the bathroom and WC may be combined) 1 bathroom AND 1 separate WC with WHB (but the WC can be contained within a second bathroom) NOTE: single WC would be allowed if separate from the bathroom. 6-10 persons 11-15 persons 2 bathrooms AND 2 separate WCs with WHBs (but one of the WCs can be contained within one of the bathrooms.) 3 bathrooms AND 3 separate WCs with WHBs (but two of the WCs can be contained within 2 of the bathrooms). 2.3 Kitchen Facilities Each occupant, must have access to facilities for the storage, preparation and cooking of food. This can be located within the room (normally described as bedsit accommodation) or as a shared kitchen. No unit of accommodation shall be more than one floor distance (storey) from a kitchen, whether for exclusive or shared use. However, this condition may be waived where a suitable, adequately-sized dining room or dining area is provided for the occupiers of such lettings, either on the same floor as, or no more than one floor distance from a kitchen. 4

Where kitchen facilities are provided within a bedsit room, they should be situated in a distinct kitchen area and this area should, where practicable, be located as far from the room door as possible. Where it is not practicable for the cooking appliance to be located remote from the door, a fire-resisting screen of suitable height should be constructed to shield the door from flames in the event of a fire occurring in the kitchen area. 2.4 Room sizes for a kitchen in a shared house (as sq m) Number of persons 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Shared Kitchen* 5.5 5.5 5.5 7 7 11 11 11 11 11 15 15 * If no other communal living space is provided. All kitchens and kitchen areas shall have a safe and practical layout. In particular:- (a) cooking appliances should, wherever practicable, have an adjacent work surface; (b) no soft furnishings are to be within 600 mm of the cooker rings or hotplates, and (c) the minimum clearance between the cooker rings or hotplates and any cupboard or extractor above must comply with manufacturer s instructions. 2.5 Open plan Living. Where a single area has been designated as the overall common area for the property and forms the kitchen, dining and living space for the property. The calculation for the floor area will be undertaken by adding together the specific single room sizes, and reduce the space calculated for the dining and living by 15%. Example - 7 Kitchen + (11 dining room + 14 living room - 15%) = single room size. 5

2.6 Facilities for the storage, preparation and cooking of food in shared kitchens Persons Cooking Appliance Sinks Refrigerated storage 1-5 6-7 8-10 11-12 Notes One conventional cooker (oven, grill & four hot plates) Two conventional cooker (a combination Microwave may be used in lieu of second cooker) Two conventional cooker (irrespective of whether a combination Microwave is provided) Two conventional cooker* and two combination Microwave ovens Properly connected to the electric or gas supplies, electric cookers must be on their own fused spur. One single bowl sink and integral drainer One double bowl sink and integral drainer (a one and a half bowl sink is acceptable where dishwasher is provided) Two single bowl sinks and integral drainer 10+ Two single bowl sinks and integral drainer and a standard dishwasher Each sink shall be set on a suitable base unit and provided with adequate hot and cold water properly connected to the drainage system One under counter refrigerator and a separate freezer or one equivalent combined fridge/freezer 6 + Two under counter refrigerator and a separate freezer or Two equivalent combined fridge/freezer Fridge: 84cm(H) 60cm(W) 60cm(D) 100 litre capacity Freezer: 84CM (H) 60cm (W) 60cm(D) 85 Litre capacity Upright fridge/freezer: 175cm (H) 60cm (W) 65cm (D) 150 litre fresh food storage, 85 litre frozen food storage 6 Dry goods storage Two 500mm base units and two 1000mm wall units with doors or equivalent 6-10 Four 500mm base units and two 1000mm wall units with doors or equivalent 11+ Five 500mm base units and three 1000mm wall units with doors or equivalent The space below a sink shall not be used for dry goods storage Worktops 1-5 2000mm (L) x 500mm (D) 6-9 2500mm (L) x 500mm (D) 10+ 3000mm (L) x 500mm (D) This shall be provided in addition to any space required for cooking appliances Electrics Two twin socket, located at least 150 mm above the work surface, 6-10 Three twin socket, located at least 150 mm above the work surface, 11+ Three twin socket, located at least 150 mm above the work surface, in addition to any sockets used for the connection of major appliances

3.0 Space Standards When ascertaining the size of any room, attention must be paid to the usability of the space, and consider the height and shape of the room. Height: All rooms should have a minimum floor to ceiling height of at least 2.3 metres over 75% of the room area. Where the ceiling height is less than 1.5 metres the floor area underneath it shall be disregarded and not counted as useable space in the room. Other areas that are not classed as useable space are chimney breasts, circulation spaces behind doorways and around staircases etc. If the room has beams then the height from the floor to the beam must be a minimum of 2 metres 3.1 One person units of accommodation Each bedroom must be greater than 6.5 m² (70sq.ft), if a separate living room is provided which is not a kitchen/dining area. If no such room is provided the bedroom should be 10 m 2 (100sq.ft). If there is adequate "useable space" within the room once fully furnished, or additional storage is located elsewhere within the property (for exclusive use of that rooms occupant), then this standard may be relaxed, this judgement will be made by the inspecting officer. If any rooms are deemed undersize then the room should remain empty or used for storage purposes only, once the current occupier of that room vacates. For bedroom with 2 occupants the room should be 14 m² (150sq.ft) or larger, except where a separate living room is provided which is not a kitchen/dining area, in which case the bedroom can be a minimum of 11 m² (120sq.ft). 3.2 Room sizes - Rooms type only. Room Metric Imperial Bedroom - with living space 6.5 70 Bedroom - No living space 10 108 Bedroom - Couple with living space 11 118 Bedroom - Couple no living space 14 150 Dining room (1 to 5 persons) 11 118 Dining room (6 to 10 persons) 14 150 Living room (1 to 5 persons) 11 118 Living room (6 to 10 persons) 14 150 Bathroom 3.74 40 All rooms shall be of a convenient and usable shape for their intended purpose. No staircase, landing, passage, kitchen or bath/shower room shall be used for sleeping accommodation. The minimum space standards above relate to available space, this being the floor area remaining after deductions are made for corridors, bath/shower rooms, WC compartments, chimney breasts and those areas covered by sloping ceilings where the floor-to-ceiling height is less than 1.5 m. 7

Portsmouth City Council when making a judgement accepts that some properties do not wholly meet these standards and when taking account of the whole property and the liveable space available to the occupants. Officers will assess the usability of the space available in the whole property for the use of all the occupants. 4.0 Fire Precautions The adopted national definitive guidance for fire safety in residential accommodation (including HMOs) is published by LACORS, Housing - Fire Safety, Guidance on Fire Safety provisions for certain types of existing housing, July 2008. This document contains advice for landlords on how to ensure adequate fire safety precautionary facilities are in place. The document is based on the fire risk assessment principles and provides recommendations, guidance and specific equipment levels for all types of properties. The Licensing and Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation and Other Houses (Miscellaneous Provisions)(England) Regulations 2006, within schedule 3 states that appropriate fire precautions facilities and equipment must be provided of such type, number and location as is considered necessary. The requirement expected by Portsmouth City Council will vary according to the observations and findings arising from any inspection undertaken, but in most cases the following will be deemed appropriate: 4.1 Types of alarm: Grade A: A fire detection and alarm system that is designed and installed in accordance with the recommendations of BS 5839: part 1 (2002), except clauses relating to alarm audibility, alarm warnings for the hearing-impaired, standby supplies, manual call points and radiolinked systems, which are replaced by part 6. This comprises a system of electrically operated smoke and/or heat detectors which are linked to a control panel. The control panel must conform to current BS 5839: part 4 (or equivalent). In general the system must incorporate manual call points which should be located next to final exits, and, in larger multi-storey properties, on each landing. The alarm signal must achieve sound levels of not less than 65dB (A) in all accessible parts of the building and not less than 75dB (A) at all bed-heads when all doors are shut, to arouse sleeping persons. Grade D: A system of one or more mains-powered smoke (or heat) alarms each with integral battery standby supply. These are designed to operate in the event of mains failure and therefore could be connected to the local lighting circuit rather than an independent circuit at the dwelling s main distribution board. There is no control panel. 8

4.2 Levels of coverage: LD2 coverage: A system incorporating detectors in all circulation spaces that form part of the escape routes from the dwelling and in all rooms or areas that present a high fire risk to occupants i.e. risk rooms. LD3 coverage: A system incorporating detectors in circulation spaces that form part of the escape routes from the dwelling only. 9

4.3 Grades and Coverage of automated fire detection and warning systems The following is based on all properties being of sound traditional construction Property description Details Shared house HMO of up to two storeys (shared cooking facilities) Shared house HMO of three or four storeys (shared cooking facilities) Shared house HMO of five or six storeys (shared cooking facilities) Bedsit type HMO (no more than 2 storeys) (shared cooking facilities) Bedsit HMO of one or two storeys with individual cooking facilities within bedsits Bedsit HMO of three to six storeys with individual cooking facilities within bedsits Three- to six-storey house converted to self-contained flats (prior to Building Regulations 1991, approved document B standard) Two-storey house converted to selfcontained flats (prior to Building Regulations 1991, approved document B standard) Building converted partly into selfcontained flats and partly into bedsits or non-self-contained lets Flat in multiple occupation (FMO) (any storey height and regardless of date of construction/ conversion) Solid, well-fitting doors to all rooms Grade D: LD3 coverage + additional detection to the kitchen, lounge and any cellar containing a risk (interlinked), Fire blanket 30 minute protected route, FD30 doors to all risk rooms, 30 minute resistance to cellars, Grade D: LD3 coverage + additional detection to the kitchen (heat), lounge and any cellar containing a risk (interlinked), Fire blanket 30 minute protected route, FD60S doors with smoke seals to all risk rooms, Lobby protection to all floors (if 5 storeys), Secondary means of escape (if 6 storeys) Grade A: LD2 coverage + additional detection to the kitchen (heat), lounge and any cellar containing a risk (interlinked), Fire blanket Grade D; LD2 coverage interlinked heat alarms with battery backup located in each communal kitchen, interlinked smoke alarm in cellar, Interlinked heat alarms with battery backup located in each bedsit. Fire signage along fire route if it is complex. Emergency lighting if there is little borrowed light or complex escape route. Grade D: LD2 coverage in the common areas and heat detectors in kitchens (interlinked) Grade D smoke alarm in each bedsit to protect the sleeping occupants (non-interlinked) Fire signage along fire route if it is complex. Emergency lighting if there is little borrowed light or complex escape route. Grade A: LD2 coverage in the common areas and heat detectors in bedsits (interlinked) Grade D smoke alarm in each bedsit to protect the sleeping occupants (non-interlinked) 30 minute protected route including 30 minute fire protection and FD30s doors to all rooms Grade A: LD2 coverage in the common areas and a heat detector in each flat in the room/lobby opening onto the escape route (interlinked) Grade D: LD3 coverage in each flat (non-interlinked) smoke alarm in the room/lobby opening onto the escape route) to protect the sleeping occupants thereafter as above. Grade D: LD2 coverage in the common areas and a heat detector in each flat in the room/lobby opening onto the escape route (interlinked) Grade D: LD3 coverage in each flat (non-interlinked) smoke alarm in the room/lobby opening onto the escape route) to protect the sleeping occupants A mixed system: Apply the appropriate recommendation for each unit of accommodation from this table and the appropriate wholehouse system based on the storey height Grade D: LD3 coverage + additional heat detector in the kitchen (and shared living room depending on risk) 10

An emergency lighting system may need to be provided in some cases where the escape route is long or complex. These systems will include luminaries provided in such numbers and locations so as to adequately illuminate the staircase enclosure in the event of a failure of the main lighting. Electricity supplies to automatic fire detection and alarm systems and to emergency lighting systems shall be from a dedicated landlord s supply. Fire blankets are required in all kitchens Portsmouth City Council do not endorse the use of fire extinguishers in the smaller type HMO's, if they are to be used then you must ensure that your tenants are trained in the correct use and on what fire each type of extinguisher is used. You must also check and test the extinguisher in accordance with the manufactures guidelines. 5.0 Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation The Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006 places a duty on the manager of the property to provide and maintain good living conditions in a house in multiple occupation to protect the tenants from risk and injury. The Licensing and Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Additional Provisions) (England) Regulations 2007 places similar duties on managers but specifically in houses in multiple occupation which are converted blocks of flats. The manager/person responsible for managing the house shall ensure that the requirements of the regulations are met. The manager may be the owner, person in control, person receiving rent, agent or any other specially designated person. 5.1 What areas are covered by these Regulations? The manager must ensure that his/her contact details are provided to the occupants and displayed within the property in the case of emergency - located on a notice board in the common areas and included within the written tenancy agreement. The manager must ensure that means of escape from fire such as the escape route should be kept free from obstruction and maintained in good working order and repair, and where necessary provide notices (larger HMOs only). Fire-fighting equipment and fire alarm systems are to be maintained in good working order. Take reasonable measure to protect the tenants from injury which may be caused by the design and structural conditions of the property and the number of people occupying it, e.g. safeguard low level windows, unsafe balconies etc. (more information can be found at https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/ext/housing-andcouncil-tax/housing/housing-standards--health-and-safety.aspx) Water supply and drainage should be maintained in good working order and repair. Gas and electrical supplies and installations should be maintained in good working order and in constant supply. A gas safety certificate must be available where applicable and supplied on request by the Council. Fixed electrical 11

installation must be inspected and tested at least every 5 years by a qualified person and a report to be obtained, which may be requested by the Council. Common parts, fixtures and appliances must be maintained in good and clean decorative repair, maintained in a safe and working condition and kept reasonably clear from obstruction. E.g. banisters and handrails, stair coverings, windows, lighting, gardens and yards, walls and fences etc. Living accommodation, installations and appliances provided should be kept clean and in good repair and order. Each room should be in a clean condition at the beginning of the tenants' occupation of it. Windows and ventilation should be maintained in good order. Provisions should be made for adequate disposal of refuse and litter - 2 dustbins with lids to be provided per 4 occupants. More information on the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation Regulations is available on the additional licensing webpage: https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/ext/housing-and-council-tax/housing/shared-houses---additionallicensing-of-houses-in-multiple-occupation.aspx 12