Minimum standards for rented housing

Details of minimum standards

For each apartment, flat or house being rented as a separate unit, the landlord must ensure that the rental property is in a proper state of structural repair. The Regulations require the landlord to maintain the property in a sound state, inside and out. They specify that roofs, roofing tiles, slates, windows, floors, ceilings, walls, stairs, doors, skirting boards, fascias, tiles on any floor, ceiling and wall, gutters, down pipes, fittings, furnishings, gardens and common areas must be maintained in good condition and repair. They must not be defective due to dampness or otherwise.

The landlord must ensure that electricity or gas supplies are safe and in good repair, and that every room has adequate ventilation and both natural and artificial lighting.

The landlord must provide:

• A sink with hot and cold water
• A separate room, for the exclusive use of each rented unit, with a toilet, a washbasin and a fixed bath or shower with hot and cold water
• A fixed heating appliance in each room, which is capable of providing effective heating and which the tenant can control
• Facilities for cooking and for the hygienic storage of food, for example, a 4-ring hob with oven and grill, fridge-freezer and microwave oven
• Access to a washing machine
• Access to a clothes-dryer if the rented unit does not have a private garden or yard
• A fire blanket and smoke alarms
• Access to vermin-proof and pest-proof refuse storage facilities

In multi-unit buildings, the landlord must provide each unit with a mains-wired smoke alarm; a fire blanket; and an emergency evacuation plan. There must also be emergency lighting in common areas.

Read more about the minimum standards, including a guide to minimum standards in rented accommodation (pdf).