To: All NFRL Affiliated Associations

From: Mike Stimpson

Date: 5th April 2007



NFRL – Acting nationally for local landlords



WASH HAND BASINS

Member associations will be aware that included within the secondary legislation of the 2004 Housing Act is the requirement to provide wash hand basins in all bedrooms where there are 5 or more occupants in the property.

The legislation came from the old HMO regulations, where it was a requirement to provide washing facilities in all living rooms in non self-contained accommodation within Houses in Multiple Occupation. The only concession made between the new legislation and the old is that the regulations only apply where there are 5 or more occupants, which is mainly within shared housing.

As the regulations, in effect, already existed, no consultation was carried out and it was not until the effect of the regulations, particularly upon shared housing, was realised that representations were made. By this time, the secondary legislation had already been passed and Communities and Local Government (CLG) inferred that Government had ‘no appetite for change’ at this early stage of licensing. Nevertheless, CLG and the IDeA (Improvement and Development Agency) websites received more comments from landlords, landlords’ associations, tenants’ organisations and local authorities regarding the hand basin requirements than any other single matter.

NFRL, of course, made representations and also brought up this issue as a matter of urgent concern with LACORS, who have been engaged to monitor and report on the effect of licensing. The result, so far, is that most local authorities accept that the requirement in many cases is unreasonable. Tenants’ organisations and many tenants themselves also consider the requirement ‘over the top’. A special debate was held in parliament but the Housing Spokesman, Baroness Andrews, made it clear that so far as Government was concerned the requirement was good practice and should not be changed.

The current situation is that most local authorities are giving very extended periods for landlords to comply with the wash hand basin regulations when issuing licences. Namely, up to 5 years, i.e. the period of the licence, as they believe, as NFRL does, that CLG will recommend an amendment to the Act to make such provision discretionary and not compulsory.

Local associations should therefore negotiate with their respective local authorities for a long lead in period in which the wash hand basin regulation should be implemented as a condition of licensing. In the meantime, NFRL, together with its partners, will seek to ensure speedy change of the regulation.

Any local association having difficulty in persuading its local authorities to give lengthy implementation periods should notify NFRL, with clear details of the local authority requirements.

SHEFFIELD HAS ALREADY AGREED TO A 5-YEAR TIMESCALE SO NO WORRIES ON THAT SCORE FOR ANYONE.

Mike Stimpson
President
NFRL

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