General Standards for Landlords
Achieving and Maintaining Standards
The accommodation should be to the standard required by law,
particularly the Housing Act 1985, Environmental Protection Act
1990, Defective Premises Act 1972, Landlord and Tenant Act
1985.
It is the landlord and manager's responsibility to be aware of
all current legislation relating to housing standards. This
includes the need to be aware of Planning and Building Control
enforced matters.
All products supplied in rented accommodation as part of the
tenancy contract for tenants to use must comply with the General
Product Safety Regulations 1994. These products must be safe for
their intended use. Products are defined as goods that are supplied
to consumers for their private use and include, for example:
clothing, medicines, DIY tools, food and drink, household goods,
nursery goods and chemicals. Secondhand products are also
covered.
In deciding whether accommodation is suitable for occupation
you must consider these things:
- Is the structure of the building stable?
- Is there serious disrepair?
- Is there dampness that may have an effect on the health of the occupants?
- Is lighting, heating and ventilation adequate?
- Is the water supply safe and adequate?
- Are there suitable and sufficient facilities for the preparation and cooking of food, including sinks with a supply of hot and cold water?
- Are there sufficient and suitably located toilets?
- Are there sufficient and suitably located baths or showers and wash-hand basins, and does each have a satisfactory supply of hot and cold water?
- Is the drainage of toilet, bathroom and sink waste and surface water effective?
- Are fire precautions and means of escape in case of fire suitable and satisfactory?
- Are room sizes sufficient?
It is important to meet required standards and to ensure that
those standards are maintained. The accommodation should be fit and
suitable for use at the start of a tenancy, and those standards
should continue to be maintained by the landlord.
Good management by the landlord must also ensure that the behaviour of the tenants does not impact detrimentally upon the immediate neighbours or wider locality. For examplenoise and accumulations of rubbish can be significant causes of concern for local residents.
Safety of the Occupants
Appropriate fire precautions must be installed and regular
checks and maintenance must be carried out to ensure that they
continue to operate as designed, and that escape routes are safe
for use in the case of fire.
All gas and electric installations, points and appliances
should be provided in adequate numbers, suitably positioned and
must be safe.
All gas installations and appliances must be safety checked
and maintained annually by a suitably qualified CORGI* registered
gas installer, and the installation must meet the requirements of
the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998
(*CORGI is the Council of Registered Gas Installers)
All electrical installations should comply with British
Standard 7671:1992 - 'Requirements for Electrical Installations',
with works being carried out by NICEIC* registered
contractors.
(*NICEIC is the National Inspection Council for Electrical
Installation Contracting)
Landlords should also consider the implications of poor
design, maintenance or management particularly for vulnerable
people such as children, the elderly and those living with a
disability. Poor lighting levels, changes in floor levels,
stairways, space heating systems and kitchen safety are all areas
of potential risk.
General
The above gives advice on housing standards, but it is
important to consult Council officers on a range of other things
such as changes in the way a property is used or occupied,
structural work, issues affecting means of escape in case of fire
or fire precautions, change in layout, provision of kitchen,
bathroom or toilet facilities, drainage connections or alterations,
ventilation, landlord/tenant law, and so on.
Please contact us at an early stage. We are pleased to offer
advice and guidance. Some relevant Council contact details are
listed but, if in doubt, contact the Private Sector Housing
Team.