Appendix Six: London Borough of Tower Hamlets

Houses in Multiple Occupation Rented Housing Property Standards

Definition of a House in Multiple Occupation

A building is defined as a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) if the following apply:

•	Its is occupied as living accommodation
•	By at least three people who belong to more than one family or household
•	In accommodation that is not self-contained and
•	Rent is paid by at least one of the occupiers and
•	It is the occupiers only or main residence

Or

•	It has been converted into self- contained flats and
•	The conversion does not meet 1991 Building Regulations and less than 2/3 of the flats are owner –occupied. These are known as s257 HMOs

Self-contained flats within buildings that are HMOs may be occupied as individual HMOs themselves. The guidance applies to self-contained flats which meet this condition and single household those that are found in s257 HMO’s 

An individual tenancy may have exclusive use of the basic facilities and amenities (bath/shower, wc and kitchen), but the accommodation would only be defined as self-contained if the sleeping/living area and all the facilities and amenities are behind one door.
Space Standards for Sleeping Accommodation

In this guidance, a bedsit or studio is defined as a room, or rooms, used for sleeping within a building, where some of the basic facilities or amenities for food preparation and hygiene are provided within the accommodation, or in a separate room and for the exclusive use of the occupiers of the bedsit or studio.

A bedroom is a room within a building used for sleeping, and which does not contain any of the basic facilities. The facilities are either provided in separate rooms and are shared with other people living in the HMO, or are provided in separate rooms but for the exclusive use by the occupiers of the bedroom.

A self-contained bedsit/studio or flat is one that contains all of the facilties and amenities for food preparation and hygiene within the accommodation.

A maximum of two people are permitted to share a room for sleeping irrespective of age. If there are two occupiers, they must be living together as partners, family members or consenting friends. A room shared by more
than two people is overcrowded, and may be subject to enforcement action by the local authority.

A room used for sleeping must not be shared by people of the opposite sex who are 10 years old and over, unless they are married or cohabiting / living together in a relationship as husband and wife or in an equivalent relationship in the case of persons of the same sex.

When measuring the size of the room and assessing usable space, the shape of the room should be taken into account as well as the total floor area.

Space taken up by fitted units are counted in the floor area calculation, but chimney breasts, lobbies and en-suite bathroom or shower rooms or other significant obstructions that can reduce the floor area are not. Rooms must have a minimum floor to ceiling height of at least 2.14 m over 75% of the floor area. Any floor area where the ceiling height is less than 1.53 m is disregarded but may be considered as possible storage space.

Number of occupiers	Minimum bedroom size for sleeping Kitchen facilities in a separate room	Minimum bedroom size for sleeping Kitchen facilities within the room	
One	8.5 square meters 	13 square meters	
Two	13 square meters	18 square meters 	

Any rooms below the minimum space standard above will not normally be considered suitable for sleeping accommodation although discretion may be granted if there is sufficient other communal space available to the occupier (see below) and/or the room is well set-up and provides a decent unit of accommodation. No rooms below 6.5m2 will be considered as suitable for sleeping rooms. No room can be considered suitable for occupation by more than one person or two persons co-habiting.

Living and dining rooms
A landlord may provide a communal living room in addition to any space that is required for shared kitchen and dining facilities. As a guide, a communal living room should be at least 13 square meters for 3 people, plus 1 square meters for every additional person. For example, a living room for 5 people should be 15 square meters.

If dining facilities are combined with the living room, the room should be at least 14 square meters for 3 people, plus 1 square meters for every additional person. For example, a combined living/dining room for 5 people should be 16 square meters.

Kitchen Facilities

Kitchen facilities should be no more than one floor away from the letting. Where this is not practicable, a dining area of a size suitable for the number of occupiers should be provided on the same floor as, and close to, the kitchen. Kitchens must be of an adequate size and shape to enable safe use of food preparation by the number of occupiers and the following guidelines for shared kitchens apply:

Number of sharers	Room size	
Up to 3	5.5 square meters 	
4-5	7.5 square meters 	
6-7	9.5 square meters 	
8-10	11.5 square meters 	

Where all or some of the lettings within the HMO do not contain cooking facilities, such facilities must be provided for sharing with other households. There should be one full set of facilities per 5 persons, irrespective of age. Some flexibility may be considered in well-managed properties where there are 6 or 7 persons, subject to a risk assessment carried out by the local authority.

Where there are up to 10 persons, either an additional full set of cooking facilities must be provided, or additional facilities must be provided in an appropriate number of individual lettings where the room is large enough. If two sets of facilities are in the same room, each set must be separated and in distinct areas of the room.

The kitchen size and layout must enable the practical, safe and hygienic use of the kitchen for storage, preparation and cooking of food.

The wall, floor and ceiling surfaces shall be smooth, impervious and capable of being cleaned.

A set of cooking facilities is comprised as follows:

Number of Occupiers	Facilities	Specifications	

One
-------------------
Up to 5
-------------------------

6 - 7	

Cooker	In one-person bedsits only, a cooker with a 2- ring hob, oven and grill.	Must be permanently and safely installed on a fixed worktop.
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Four-ring hob, oven and grill.
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Four-ring hob, oven and grill and an additional combined microwave oven and grill.	

Up to 5

---------------- 6 - 7	

Sink/drainer	1000 mm sink/drainer set on base unit, provided with a constant supply of hot and cold water and properly connected to the drainage system.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A double sink/drainer installed as above or

A single sink/drainer plus a dishwasher.	
One	

Worktop	1000 mm x 600 mm. Worktop must be fixed,	
household		and made of suitable impervious material.	
-------------------		------------------------------------------------------------------	
Up to 5		2000 mm x 600 mm provided and fitted as	
-------------------		above
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------	
6 – 7		2000 mm x 600 mm provided and fitted as	
		above, plus additional space for extra	
		appliances.	

All	
Splashback	300 mm tiled splashback or its equivalent to be provided to the sink/drainer, worktop and any cooker without an integral splashback.	

Up to 5	
Electrical	One suitably located electrical socket for each	
		dedicated appliance such as a cooker,	
	sockets	refrigerator and washing machine. In addition, 4	
		sockets (in either double or single combinations)	
		to be provided above the worktop.	
-------------------		---------------------------------------------------------------	
6 – 7		An additional 2 sockets as above.	

All	Floor covering	Impervious and washable floor covering to cover the floor area of the kitchen.	
Per household	Food storage cupboard	One double wall cupboard or One single base cupboard.
May be provided within individual lets.  The base unit below the sink/drainer is not acceptable for food storage.	
Per household
--------------

Up to 5

------------------ 6 - 7	

Refrigerator	Where provided in individual lettings, a small fridge freezer.
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Where provided in a shared kitchen, equivalent of 2 worktop height refrigerators both with freezer compartments, or 1 worktop height fridge and 1 worktop height freezer.
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Where provided in a shared kitchen, the equivalent of an additional worktop height refrigerator with freezer compartment.	

Kitchen facilities where provided in a bedsit should be sited remote from the entrance door.

The cooker should not be situated below a window.

A kitchen must not be the sole access to a room used for sleeping. 

Kitchen facilities must not be installed in a hallway.

A humidistat-controlled mechanical extractor must be provided where there is inadequate ventilation by means of a window. Newly converted kitchens must have a mechanical extractor regardless of whether there is an openable window.

Apart from an extractor hood, fixtures and fittings are not to be directly above cooking appliances.

Sufficient refuse storage to be provided adequate for the number of occupiers.

Personal washing and wc facilities

Bathrooms and WCs should be within one floor of lettings, and where shared, must be accessible from a common area. WCs and bath/shower rooms must be fitted with a suitable and functioning lock and the surfaces must be impervious and readily cleansable.

Bath/shower rooms and WCs must be adequately ventilated, and bath and shower rooms must be adequately heated, such as by radiator, wall-mounted convection or fan heater, or underfloor heating. Electric bar heaters are not permitted. In new conversions, a mechanical extractor must be installed in addition to any openable window.

Where only one bathing facility is provided in the premises, it must be a bath with a suitable seal and a fixed overhead shower. A fixed shower rail and curtain must be installed.

Ideally wash hand basins in each bedsit sleeping room are required where practicable in houses with 5 or more occupiers, unless the room contains a sink/drainer.

Properties that are not bedsit accommodation may not require wash hand basin’s in sleeping rooms at the discretion of the local authority.

The facilities must be adequate for the number of occupiers, and the following is a guide. External wc’s are not counted.

Number of Occupiers	Facilities	Specifications	

1-4	
1 bath with wash hand basin

WC can be in bathroom	Standard size bath with 450 mm splashback
Full-size wash hand basin with tiled splashback. Both to have constant supply of hot and cold water.
If the WC is separate, it must have an additional wash hand basin & tiled splashback within the compartment.	

5	1 bath with wash hand basin in room

1 WC with wash hand basin

1 wash hand basin in each sleeping room	WC should be separate from the bath/ wash hand basin (If combined numbers may be restricted)

wash hand basin’s in bedsit rooms where practicable.	

6-10	2 bathrooms with wash hand  basins in each

One of bathrooms must contain bath, and the other a shower which may be fixed over-bath type

2 wc’s, one in own compartment with wash hand basin

1 wash hand basin in each sleeping room	As above

wash hand basin’s in bedsit rooms where practicable.	

Where a shower cubicle is provided, it must be of a sufficient size that the user can bathe and dress without injury.

All rooms containing baths/showers, WCs and wash hand basins must be adequately lit, ventilated and heated.

All shower cubicles to be fully tiled (or similar impervious material) or be complete self-standing cubicle.

The minimum acceptable bath size is 1700mm x 70mm and shower cubicle 800x800mm.

Every bath, shower and wash hand basin must be provided with an adequate and continuous supply of hot and cold water and be connected to the drainage system in compliance with current Building Regulations.

Fire Safety

Fire safety standards to be based on the final edition of the Lacors LACORS Housing Fire Safety Guidance: http://www.cieh.org/library/Knowledge/Housing/National_fire_safety_guidance_08.pdf

. As a minimum all properties must have a suitable mains-wired fire detection system and a means of escape that is adequately protected against the smoke and flames should a fire arise in a kitchen, bedroom or other communal room.  have a Grade D LD2 fire detection systems (BS5839 part 6-2013). This includes a mains wired heat detector(s) in the kitchen and any room containing cooking facilities interlinked to a smoke detector(s) in the hallways and every landing.  This can be achieved by finding the case study in Part D of the LACORS guide that closest matches the property and adopting those standards.

Heating

Dwellings must have both effective insulation and efficient heating with reference to current energy efficiency requirements.

A fixed heating system must be provided to all lets. Radiators must be fitted with thermostatic valves. Fixed storage heaters are preferred where there is no gas supply.

Services
Each room being used as a sleeping room much have at least 3 double electric sockets for the use of the occupiers. Where there is a self contained flat it must have its own exclusive supply of electricity, gas and water.

Additional Considerations

Compliance with these standards does not negate the need for compliance with other statutory provisions, including the Housing Act 2004 and supporting Regulations and guidance.

Buildings converted into flats (Section 257 HMOs)

Section 257 of the Housing Act 2004 defines the circumstance where a building converted into flats is a HMO. This is a building that was not converted in accordance with the 1991 Building Regulations (or later) and which still does not meet those standards and where a third or more of the flats are rented out on short term tenancies.
The standards detailed below are for units occupied by a single household. Where a flat in a section 257 is occupied by two, or more unrelated persons the standards detailed above for HMOs will apply.
The table below details the minimum required standards for a section 257 HMO:

	Minimum floor space	
Studio – one person	11m²	
Studio two persons cohabiting as a couple	15m²	
Separate kitchen – single occupancy	5.5m²	
Separate kitchen – two or more occupiers	6.5m²	
Bathroom	Must meet the general requirements above	
Separate bedroom – single occupancy	6.5m²	
Separate bedroom - couple	10m²	
Additional bedrooms single person	6.5m²	
Additional bedrooms couple	10m²	
All kitchens must meet the standards detailed above. 
All bathrooms must meet the standards detailed above.