S.I. No. 147/1993:

HOUSING (STANDARDS FOR RENTED HOUSES) REGULATIONS, 1993.

HOUSING (STANDARDS FOR RENTED HOUSES) REGULATIONS, 1993.

CONTENTS

1. Citation.

2. Commencement.

3. Interpretation.

4. Application.

5. Structural Condition.

6. Sinks, waterclosets, fixed baths, showers and water supply.

7. Heating, cooking and food storage.

8. Electricity and gas.

9. Ventilation and lighting.

10. Common areas, facilities and stairways.

11. Basements, outoffices, yards and boundaries.

12. Revocation.

S.I. No. 147 of 1993.

In exercise of the powers conferred on the Minister for the Environment by section 5 of the Housing Act, 1966 (No. 21 of 1966), as amended by section 24 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1992 (No. 18 of 1992), and by section 18 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1992 , which powers are delegated to me by the Environment (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) (No. 2) Order, 1993 ( S.I. No. 128 of 1993 ), I, EMMET STAGG, Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, hereby make the following Regulations:--

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations, 1993.

2. (a) Subject to paragraph (b) of this article, these Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of January, 1994.

( b ) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of January, 1998, as respects houses let by housing authorities pursuant to any of their functions under the Housing Acts, 1966 to 1992.

3. (1) In these Regulations, "house" includes any building or part of a building used or suitable for use as a dwelling and any outoffice, yard, garden or other land appurtenant thereto or usually enjoyed therewith.

(2) In these Regulations, any reference to a sub-article is a reference to a sub-article of the article in which the reference occurs.

(3) Any requirement of these Regulations with respect to repair shall be construed as requiring a standard of repair that is reasonable in all the circumstances and, in determining the appropriate standard of repair, regard shall be had to the age, character and prospective life of the house.

(4) Nothing in these Regulations shall be taken--

( a ) as requiring or authorising anything to be done in connection with a water supply, drainage system or the supply of gas or electricity otherwise than in accordance with the enactments relating thereto, or

( b ) as creating an obligation to--

(i) take any action which is the responsibility of a local authority or statutory undertaker, other than such action as may be necessary to bring the matter to the attention of the local authority or statutory undertaker concerned, or

(ii) repair or maintain in good repair, working order or in a clean condition anything which a tenant is entitled to remove from a house.

(5) Sub-article (4) shall not be construed as exempting a housing authority from their duties under these Regulations as respects houses let by them.

(6) In this article--

"local authority" has the meaning assigned to it by the Local Government Act, 1941 (No. 23 of 1941);

"statutory undertaker" means a person authorised by or under statute to construct, work, or carry on a railway, canal, inland navigation, dock, harbour, gas, electricity, telephone, postal or other public undertaking.

4. (1) These Regulations shall apply to every house let for rent or other valuable consideration solely as a dwelling unless the house is let --

( a ) bona fide for the temporary convenience of or to meet a temporary necessity of the landlord or tenant,

( b ) to a person only for the purpose of conferring on that person the right to occupy the house for a holiday,

( c ) by a health board or by an approved body, as accommodation with sanitary, cooking, dining or other essential facilities provided for communal use within the building which contains the house, or

( d ) by a housing authority pursuant to any of their functions under the Housing Acts, 1966 to 1992, and is a demountable house.

(2) In sub-article (1) (c) "approved body" means--

( a ) a body standing approved of under section 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1992 ;

( b ) a voluntary body standing approved of by the Minister for Health or by a health board for the purpose of providing accommodation for elderly persons or persons with a mental handicap or psychiatric disorder.

5. (1) A house to which these Regulations apply (hereinafter referred to as "the house") shall be maintained in a proper state of structural repair.

(2) For the purpose of sub-article (1) "a proper state of structural repair" means essentially sound, with roof, floors, ceilings, walls and stairs in good repair and not subject to serious dampness or liable to collapse because they are rotted or otherwise defective.

(3) The requirements of this article shall not apply to any outoffice, other than a building, or part of a building, containing a watercloset required to be provided by these Regulations.

6. (1) A sink shall be provided in the habitable area of the house.

(2) A watercloset shall be provided--

( a ) where the house is part of a building containing more than one house, either in the habitable area of the house or in a part of the building that is either on the same floor as the house or on the floor next above or below the house, or

( b ) where the house is not a house to which paragraph (a) of this sub-article refers, in the habitable area of the house unless--

(i) the house is let under a tenancy commenced before the date on which these Regulations come into operation as respects the house, or

(ii) the house is relet, under a tenancy commenced on or after such date, to the person who was the tenant of the house immediately preceding such letting or to a member of the household of such person, or

( c ) where the house is not a house to which paragraph (a) of this sub-article refers, and is a house to which sub-paragraph (i) or (ii) of paragraph (b) of this sub-article refers, in the house (which includes the cartilage thereof).

(3) A fixed bath or shower shall be provided--

( a ) where the house is part of a building containing more than one house, either in the habitable area of the house or in a part of the building that is either on the same floor as the house or on the floor next above or below the house, or

( b ) in any other case, in the habitable area of the house.

(4) Each sink, watercloset, fixed bath or shower required to be provided by these Regulations shall have--

( a ) an adequate piped supply of water including, in the case of each such sink, a piped supply of cold water taken direct from the service pipe supplying water from the public main or other source to the building containing the house,

( b ) a safe and effective means of drainage, and

( c ) in the case of each such sink, bath and shower a facility for the piped supply of hot water.

(5) The water supply pipes, the water storage cistern and the distribution pipes from the cistern serving the house shall be protected against damage by frost.

(6) Subject to sub-article (7), the facilities referred to in sub-articles (2) (a) and (3) (a) shall be provided for use by the occupants of not more than two houses.

(7) Sub-article (6) shall not apply to a facility provided for use by not more than four persons.

7. (1) The house shall contain--

( a ) an appliance or appliances capable of providing adequate space heating and facilities for the installation of cooking equipment with provision, where necessary, for the safe and effective removal of fumes and other products of combustion to the external air, and

( b ) facilities for the hygienic storage of food.

(2) In sub-article (1) "appliance" includes an open fireplace.

8. Installations in the house for the supply of electricity and gas shall be maintained in good repair and safe working order with provision, where necessary, for the safe and effective removal of fumes to the external air.

9. (1) Every room used, or intended for use, by the tenant of the house as a habitable room shall have adequate ventilation and natural lighting and all windows and other means of ventilation shall be maintained in good repair and working order.

(2) Every room used, or intended for use, by the tenant of the house as a bedroom shall have permanent ventilation either by means of the flue of an open fireplace or by means of one or more ventilation openings having a total unobstructed sectional area of not less than 4,000 square millimetres and opening directly to the external air.

(3) Every bathroom, washroom and watercloset used, or intended for use, by the tenant of the house, other than a watercloset entered directly from the external air, shall have an effective means of ventilation directly to the external air, either by means of a window having an openable area of not less than 1,000 square centimetres or by means of mechanical extract ventilation capable of extracting at a rate of not less than 15 litres per second.

(4) Every room used, or intended for use, by the tenant of the house shall have adequate means of artificial lighting.

(5) Sub-articles (1) and (3) shall not require a landlord to make good any breakages of glass in windows in any part of the house of which the tenant has exclusive use.

10. (1) All means of preparation, cooking and storage of food, lighting and heating which are used, or intended for use, in common by the occupants of more than one house shall be maintained in good repair and safe working order.

(2) Every sink, watercloset, fixed bath, shower, room, stairway, landing, passage, open space and other part of the building containing the house which is used, or intended for use, in common by the occupants of more than one house shall be maintained in good repair and in a clean condition.

(3) Every stairway used, or intended for use, in common by the occupants of more than one house shall have a substantial handrail securely fixed.

11. (1) Every unoccupied basement or cellar in the building containing the house shall be maintained in good repair and in a clean condition.

(2) All outoffices, yards and forecourts within the curtilage of the building containing the house and all boundary walls, fences and railings shall be maintained in good repair.

12. The Housing (Private Rented Dwellings) (Standards) Regulations, 1984 ( S.I. No. 337 of 1984 ) shall be revoked on the 1st day of January, 1994.

DATED this 10th day of June, 1993.

EMMET STAGG,

Minister of State at the Department of

the Environment.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations require landlords of rented houses (including flats and maisonettes), with some exceptions, to ensure that such houses meet certain minimum standards. The standards relate to, inter alia, structural condition, provision of sinks, waterclosets, fixed baths or showers, cooking and food storage facilities, safety of electricity and gas installations, availability of adequate heating, lighting and ventilation, maintenance of common areas, etc. The Regulations come into operation generally on 1 January, 1994, and as respects local authority houses on 1 January, 1998. They replace the Housing (Private Rented Dwellings) (Standards) Regulations, 1984, which apply only to the formerly rent-controlled sector and bye-laws for rented houses made by local authorities under section 70 of the Housing Act, 1966 , both of which will cease to have effect on 1 January, 1994.