The Gazette 1996

U A Z t l l b

JULY 1996

a c c ommo d a t i on which includes an

apartment, flat, maisonette, etc., but

not mobile h omes or caravans. This

obligation applies to appropriate

a c c ommo d a t i on rented by^a private

landlord, voluntary bodies, local

authorities or employers, if a rent is

payable. A rent book is not required for

a holiday letting. The date the landlord

was obliged to supply a rent book in

relation to a tenancy which

c omme n c ed before September 1, 1993

was No v emb er 1, 1993.

The rent book records the rent and

other payments made by the tenant to

the landlord and must contain other

information:

• the address of the

a c c ommo d a t i o n:

• the name or address of the

landlord and of the landlord's

agent (if any);

• the tenant's name;

• the term of the tenancy;

• the amount of the rent and wh en

and h ow it is to be paid,

• particulars of any payments

other than rent to be paid by the

tenant to the landlord for

services e.g. heating or piped

television;

• the amount and purpose of any

deposit paid by the tenant and

the conditions under which it

will be refunded by the landlord;

• a statement of information wh i ch

advises tenants of their basic

rights;

• particulars of the name, address

and telephone numbers of the

housing authority in wh o se area

the a c c ommo d a t i on is situated;

• the date of c omme n c eme nt of the

tenancy; and

• an inventory of furnishings and

appliances supplied by the

landlord for the tenant's use.

The last t wo particulars need not be

included where the tenancy

c omme n c ed before 1 September 1993.

It is the landlord's responsibility to

enter the information in the rent book.

Any subsequent c h a n g es in the

information must be entered in the rent

book by the landlord within one month

of the change. An e x amp le of such

178

change wo u ld be a rent increase or if

the landlord appointed a n ew agent.

I Wh e re other payments for services are {

' made directly by the tenant to the

landlord, the landlord must, at that

time, either record the payment and

sign for it in the rent book or provide a |

signed receipt containing full details of

the payment.

Where payments are made other than

in person e.g. by standing order, bank

giro etc., the landlord must, within

three months, either record and sign for

the payment in the rent book or g i ve

the tenant a written statement of the

payment.

Standards for Rented

Accommodation

Since January 1, 1994 landlords of

rented a c c ommo d a t i on including

apartments, flats, maisonettes etc., (but

not mobile h omes or caravans) let for

rent or "other valuable consideration"

have a statutory duty to ensure that

these dwe l l i n gs c omp ly with certain

m i n i mum physical standards. Ho u s es

let by local authorities are subject to

the same standards from January 1,

1998. The standards do not apply to

• holiday lettings or bona fide

temporary lettings; or

• certain c ommun al type

a c c ommo d a t i on provided by

health boards or approved

voluntary bodies.

The standards are set out in the

Housing (Standards

for

Rented

Houses) Regulations,

1993.

Th e se

standards require landlords to:

• ensure that the house is in a

proper state of structural repair,

i.e. that it is essentially sound

with the roof, floors, ceilings,

walls and stairs in g o od repair;

• provide a sink with hot and cold

water facilities in each dwelling;

• provide toilet and bath or shower

facilities;

• provide adequate means for

heating or installing c o o k i ng

equipment and for storing food;

• maintain installations for the

supply of electricity or gas in

g o od repair and safe working

order;

• provide proper ventilation and

lighting to each room;

• maintain c ommon facilities for

cooking, f o od storage, lighting

and heating in g o od repair and

safe working order;

• maintain c ommon sinks, toilets,

baths, showers or other c ommon

areas in g o od repair and in a

clean condition; and

• provide a secure handrail for any

c ommon stairway.

Landlords who fail to comply

with any statutory duties

imposed on them are liable to a

fine of £1,000 and £100 per day

for any continuing offence.

The landlord is not under any duty to

a tenant in relation to anything the

tenant is entitled to r emo ve or for

repairing glass breakages in w i n d o ws

in any part of the building of wh i ch

the tenant has e x c l u s i ve use.

In relation to a toilet, bath or s h ower

facilities in a building containing t wo

or more flats, a toilet and bath or

s h ower must be provided either in

the flat itself or e l s ewh e re within

the building but not more than o ne

•

floor a b o ve or b e l ow the flat. In

general, there must be at least o ne

toilet and bath or s h ower for each

t wo flats. How e v e r, up to four flats

may be served by o ne toilet or by

o ne bath or s h ower provided the flats

are not intended to be o c c u p i ed by

more than four persons in all. For

e x amp l e, four bedsitters each

o c c u p i ed by o ne tenant may be served

by a single toilet/bath.

Enforcement of Regulations

Local authorities are responsible for

e n f o r c i ng the legal requirements in

relation to registration, rent b o o ks and

standards described above. Local

authorities include the c oun ty c oun c i l,

corporation or urban district c o un c il in

w h o s e area the rented a c c ommo d a t i on

is located. Co un ty c o u n c i ls are

responsible for t owns with t own

c omm i s s i o n e r s. Th e se authorities have

p owe rs to investigate any breaches