Kitchens in three storey house

[rachieblen]

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 friendly 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

[Guest]

There is no standard for this so what you propose is fine. I personally own a 6-bed HMO with one large kitchen on the ground floor and a bedroom on the second floor in a converted loft exactly like you described for yours and there has never been a problem. If you are in any doubt about this or any other requirement, I recommend contacting the housing department of your local council to double check, as different local authorities can have slightly different requirements.

Hope that helps! Chris