private house rent - what are the regulation rules?

[spookylips]

as my mum is looking into buying a 1 bed house - unfurnished (even though there is a new bed and curtains)... there is no gas in the house at all as all electric... is there a law that the landlord should provide central heating?

is there storage heaters?

Do you mean renting or buying?

No there is no legal obligation to provide heating as far as I know.

not in this country.

no storage heaters but got oil filled radiators (them flat ones)

countess - renting

sorry not buying (doh me!)

Do you mean she is renting it or buying to let as a landlord ?

No requirement as far as I know but there should be an electrical safety inspection to cover any appliances included before a tenancy commences. Is there any heating system, such as Economy 7 storage heaters or warm air ducts ? "Unfurnished" can mean pretty much anything but all soft furnishings left such as mattresses, sofas and curtains must conform to 1988 Fire Regulations.

oil filled radiators are safer than portable gas or parafin heathers if that is any help.

Def no legal requirement to provide central heating at the moment. Though it is a requirement to provide heating in soem states of America, and they are talking about makign it a requirement under Scottish law.

you need it in chilly jock land!

lol. It has more to do with environmental concerns than anything though.

mum is renting. she got no ecomony 7 storage heaters or warm air ducts

bump

definately no such law, but the rent will usually be lower on homes without central heating.

I think there is law on providing 'adequate space heating' and hot water but definately does not mean central heating (I work for a Housing Assoc and we still have some houses with gad fires or even coal fires but no c/h).

we rent and have no central heating either!
we have some oil-filled radiators... expensive to run though... so mostly it's just plenty of jumpers!

it is the law in australia though, funnily enough!

senora - well her rent is the same as here.. im trying to get mum to see other houses but she wants to move into this house asap...

We have ch in this house, but the first house we rented had storage heaters. As long as they're services yearly that's OK. My Mum rents from the HA, and only got CH last year after 33 years. we used to have to defrost our jeans on the fire in the mornings when I was a kid, and if it was really cold slept downstairs together for heat (there was only one gas fire in the house). teachers didn't give me homework 6 months of the year, with a big noisy family and nowhere warm to go to do it there wasn't any point.

mum is gonna find out if the loft is insulated as if yes then the house will be warm

I'm not sure if it applies to tenants as much as homeowners but there are grants available for older people to do things like cavity wall insulation - my mum has just had hers done.

From memory when I studied housing law all you have to do is supply a socket into which a heater could be plugged. At some point this was taken to court and the judge decided that a socket was sufficient. I don't know of any other cases subsequently.

Having said that if you want to attract a good tenant a plug will not be a draw

oh well.. its looks like she will have to sort out the heating herself

If she could get a grant perhaps the landlord would split the cost ?

LIZ - ive told mum about going half on carpet esp for her bedroom as its wooden floor boards and it was block ice when we were in there

(mum is gonna ask the landlord to go half with the carpet)