We're setting up a new HMO at the moment in a three floor house,. Its not massive - 5 bedrooms and will only let singles rent the rooms so max 5 occupants, three bathrooms and one large kitchen/diner/lounge. But one bedroom is in the loft, so two floors from the communal kitchen. I notice in the standards that it says "Each kitchen shall not be more than one floor distance from any room(s) occupied by the person(s) for whom they are provided". I hadn't wanted to make the loft room into a studio as we were aiming for a nice friendly shared house with good professional tenants, but I'm guessing that I will have to? Or is there any way around this clause please? If I have to, what's the minimum kitchen I need to provide to be considered compliant? Thanks
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Can you please clarify which standards give the information about the kitchen?
I used to run two 7 bedroom HMOs which were configured just as you describe. My HMOs were inspected several times by the Local Authority and my ground floor kitchens were never questioned. There is a formula for working out the size of the kitchen workspace and the level of equipment needed in the kitchen. -
Its from the housing act 2004 - i found it on the Lambeth space standards, clause I in this document: https://beta.lambeth.gov.uk/sites/de...lodgings_0.pdf and also here https://www.dashservices.org.uk/Medi...itiesSpace.pdf though I've been unable to find it in the housing act itself.Originally posted by AlexR View Post
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I used to speak directly with the Local Council Private Rental dept who were usually very helpful. I can't speak for Lambeth but they do give number for queries.
You have only one room which exceeds the ' more than one floor' distance rule and it would seem reasonable to ask for that one room to be excluded from the rule.Comment
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