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Volume 4
Chapter 11 Bath Or Shower And Wash-Hand Basin With Hot & Cold Water
11.1. A house meets the tolerable standard if it has a fixed bath or shower and wash-hand basin, each provided with a satisfactory supply of hot and cold water and suitably located within the house.
Introduction
11.2. This purpose of this element of the tolerable standard is to ensure all homes in Scotland have private facilities for personal hygiene. This should be a bath or shower, in addition to a wash-hand basin. These must be located inside the house and should be available for the sole use of the occupants. In most cases, these facilities will be located in a bath or shower room.
Legislation
11.3. The Tolerable Standard was first defined in the Housing (Scotland) Act 1969, and this element was introduced in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001. The Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 did not change the definition.
Making the assessment
11.4. This element of the tolerable standard is one of the more straightforward to assess. Assessors should try to identify a fixed bath or shower, and a wash-hand basin supplied with hot and cold water, inside the house. Assessors should consider this with the advice contained in other chapters of this guidance, in particular ventilation, lighting and wholesome water.
11.5. The flow-chart below will help guide an assessor through the process of determining whether the house has a bath, shower and wash-hand basin that meets the tolerable standard:
11.6. An assessor should consider the following information in trying to answer each of these questions. For houses with more than one bath or shower room, the assessor need only identify one set of facilities that conforms to the tolerable standard.
Is there a fixed bath or shower, and a wash-hand basin inside the house?
11.7. The assessor should look to identify a functional bath or shower, and a wash-hand basin inside the main part of the house for the exclusive use of the occupants that they can access without going outside. These facilities should be fixed firmly to the floor or wall and connected permanently to an appropriate drainage pipe. Assessors should note that the requirement for a house to have a wash-hand basin is distinct from that for a sink. A sink, normally located in a kitchen area and used in the preparation of food, is not a satisfactory substitute for a wash-hand basin. The chapters on sinks and water closets provide more information on this for assessors.
11.8. The bath, shower or wash-hand basin should be fit for purpose and not broken or damaged to such a degree that it cannot be used and is beyond economic repair. For example, if a bath has a hole in it and cannot be filled with water, and the assessor considers the cost of repairing the damage is disproportionate to the cost of replacement, the house is below tolerable standard. However, if the facility is in poor condition because it is unclean or damaged, but still usable, the house is not below tolerable standard.
Is there a satisfactory supply of hot and cold water to the facilities?
11.9. The bath, shower and wash-hand basin should have a fixed tap or taps capable of delivering a piped supply of both hot and cold water. The water may emerge from two separate taps or from a single mixer type tap. In the case of a shower, the water will normally emerge from a shower head and hot water will be supplied by an instantaneous boiler, or tank. In the case of electric showers, the shower device will normally heat the water instantly. The shower head may be fixed to the wall or ceiling, or may be connected to the water supply via a hose.
11.10. The easiest way to check if there is a satisfactory supply of hot and cold water is to turn on the tap. But in some circumstances hot water may not be available at the time of the visit (for example where there is an immersion heater). In these cases the assessor should check that the house has the capacity to deliver hot water.
11.11. In practice, this means assessors may have to look for the presence of a water heating appliance. This will normally be a hot water storage cylinder supplied from a boiler, a combination boiler, or a smaller storage or instantaneous water heater located at the bath or wash-hand basin. The quantity of water the device should be capable of delivering is:
- for a wash-hand basin, a total supply of at least 7 litres of hot water in one continuous flow; and
- for a bath or shower, the device must be capable of delivering 7 litres of hot water per minute, and in all cases enough to allow the occupants to fill a bath where a bath is the facility provided.
11.12. An assessor should check that the appliance works and is capable of producing hot water. A house that does not have a water heating system capable of providing a suitable continuous supply of hot water at the shower, bath or wash-hand basin is below tolerable standard.
11.13. If the water heating device is broken or damaged, and an assessor believes it is not fit for purpose and be beyond economic repair, the house is below tolerable standard. However, if an assessor judges that the device can be repaired and thinks that this will be done soon after the visit, the house is not below tolerable standard. In some cases, an assessor may choose to make a follow-up visit to the house at a later date, giving the owner an opportunity to fix the broken device.
Can occupants access the bath or shower and wash-hand basin safely and conveniently?
11.14. The bath or shower, and wash-hand basin will normally be located in a bathroom. This should be located in a position within the house that allows any non disabled user of average size safe and convenient access to it. Where a current occupant has mobility difficulties that affect access to facilities this does not of itself mean that the house is below the tolerable standard. Bathrooms that are positioned off stairs and require the user to step from and onto a split-level surface will normally be below tolerable standard.
11.15. In some cases, the only bathroom in the house will be located off a bedroom (en-suite type). In houses with one bedroom, this type of arrangement will be satisfactory. However, a house with multiple bedrooms must have a bathroom that occupants can access without going through a bedroom, otherwise it is below tolerable standard.
Is there adequate space to use the shower, bath or wash-hand basin?
11.16. The bathroom should have sufficient room within it to allow the shower, bath and wash-hand basin to be used comfortably. An assessor will need to make a judgement on the space in which they are located, and he/she should consider the height of the ceiling, the space around the facilities, and how easily users can enter the room. If the assessor believes that the lack of space prevents the occupants from comfortably using the facilities, the house will be below tolerable standard.
11.17. In houses with only one bedroom, it is acceptable to have a shower located in the bedroom for the exclusive use of the occupants. However, for houses with more than one bedroom, where the only shower is located in a bedroom, the house is below tolerable standard.
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