HMO Bathroom Provision for 7 people
For years I have happily operated a 7 bed HMO which has 2 full bathrooms.
According to the council bumf a 4 bed house needs one full bathroom. You would therefore think that you can have up to 8 with 2 bathrooms, but no … apparently in order to have 7 people I have in effect to provide enough facilities for up to 10 people.
These standards seem to be national standards drawn up by some local authoirty think tank.
The amenity standards are in this document which apparently is a national standard so the council tell me.
But I really can’t see why if you can service 4 people off one bathroom you can’t service 8 people off 2 bathrooms. I have got to add an extra toilet which will give me enough facilities for 10 even though I have only got 7 occupants.
Has anyone else had any success appealing this sort of bunkum ?
Alan Davies
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Agent's breach or tenant's breach? Please HELP!!
6:12 PM, 26th April 2013, About 13 years ago
My nice brother and I bought a house renovated it and now he wants to buy it frm me. The deeds are in my name and I just want to transfer them to him and he will pay me the balance of the nice profit we have made. A solicetor will charge us £740 for this, Why ????? Its just a deed transfer and a re-registering at the land register. Does anybody know a simple legal way of completing this whilst protecting both of us. Many thanks
alan
Member Since September 2011 - Comments: 882 - Articles: 30
12:47 PM, 28th April 2013, About 13 years ago
These are the standards for washing, bathing and toilet facilities taken from Chartered Institute of Housing guide which is used by Envirmental Health Officers all over the country
2.15 Personal Washing And Bathing Facilities For Bedsits
(a) Baths and Showers
Each occupancy shall be provided where practicable with a bath or shower in a separate room. Otherwise a readily accessible bathroom containing a bath or shower shall be provided not more than one floor distant from any user on a ratio of one bath or shower to every 5 persons sharing.
Bathrooms intended to be shared by two or more households are to be accessible from a common area. A shower facility installed over a bath will not count as an additional shower
(b) Wash Hand Basins
Each separate occupancy shall be provided with a wash-hand basin together with constant supplies of hot and cold water and sited within the unit of accommodation.
If a sink is provided in a single bedsit room, then a separate wash hand basin will not be required. All bathrooms or separate compartments containing a WC must be provided with a wash-hand basin.
2.16 Toilet Facilities For Bedsits
Toilet facilities being not more than one floor distant from any user shall be provided in the following ratios: (with respect to the total number of occupants of the house)
1 – 4 persons – 1 WC which may be separate or located within a bathroom
5 persons – 1 WC which must be separate from the bathroom but can be contained within a second bathroom
6 – 10 persons – 2 separate WCs but one of the WCs can be contained within a bathroom
11 – 15 persons – 3 separate WCs but two of the WCs can be contained within two bathrooms
This sequence would continue proportionally for every additional five persons.
Member Since April 2014 - Comments: 39
12:58 PM, 28th April 2013, About 13 years ago
This is all a bit like going to a pub where on the menu chips are £1, beans are 60p but beans and chips are £2.45.
I can think of no logic which would suggest that if you can service 4 people off 1 bathroom you can’t service 8 off two bathrooms.
All the separate toilet stuff I reckon is simply designed to make it harder to have larger HMO’s.
Member Since July 2013 - Comments: 561
8:40 AM, 14th June 2013, About 13 years ago
One thought.
4 people living in the same house are much more likely to cooperate with each other than 7 people.
What if you make one bathroom for the use off 3 people and the other one for the use of the other 4 people? E.g split the HMO in two, but have a single kitchen used by both “new hmos”.