Council House Kitchen Standard

Mmac19

Hello! 
Does anybody know if the kitchen in a council house has to meet any sort of specific standards? I've recently been offered a home that I am unable to reject. I haven't viewed the property yet but went for a look through the window. The kitchen appears to be extremely small with next to know worktop or cupboard space. All houses on the street are the same layout but I can see from the external brickwork that every single house on the street has had the kitchen extended into an outbuilding. This is the only house that hasn't been knocked through.

Just wondering if there's any sort of standards that they have to meet. E.g. a specific number of cupboards, specific sized space for fridge freezer and cooker, certain amount of worktop space etc. 

Any help would be massively appreciated. Hoping to find out as much information as possible, before my viewing.

Thank you! 

gettingtheresometime

Are the extended houses now privately owned?

HampshireH

Quite often minimum standard would be something like.

One double base unit, one double wall unit, 600 cooker, fridge and washing machine space where space permits - potentially all under counter. Fridge space may be dropped in favour of a washing machine space as a fridge could be put anywhere (I used o have a fridge in my lounge in a private rental) due to lack of space.

Usually they will have a policy which determines the standard but most will have a "where space permits" caveat if they are sensible.

Councils do not extend their houses for no reason.

Mmac19

HampshireH said:

Quite often minimum standard would be something like.

One double base unit, one double wall unit, 600 cooker, fridge and washing machine space where space permits - potentially all under counter. Fridge space may be dropped in favour of a washing machine space as a fridge could be put anywhere (I used o have a fridge in my lounge in a private rental) due to lack of space.

Usually they will have a policy which determines the standard but most will have a "where space permits" caveat if they are sensible.

Councils do not extend their houses for no reason.

Thanks for your reply! I was thinking it would be something along these lines, just didn't know if there was anything concrete. 

I agree - they wouldn't extend for no reason. This is what confused me regarding why they had extended every house on the street, as surely this wouldn't have been done unless necessary.

Mmac19

gettingtheresometime said:

Are the extended houses now privately owned?

Hello! I'm not sure if they all are, but I spoke to the family living a couple of doors down and their's is council. I didn't ask any details though. 
From looking at them, the majority of them appear to be council houses as they all have chain link fences etc. I could be wrong though. 

MovingForwards

Mmac19 said:

gettingtheresometime said:

Are the extended houses now privately owned?

Hello! I'm not sure if they all are, but I spoke to the family living a couple of doors down and their's is council. I didn't ask any details though. 
From looking at them, the majority of them appear to be council houses as they all have chain link fences etc. I could be wrong though. 

Easiest way to check is search for properties for sale on that road, or sold properties on that road. Then you will see how many are privately owned.

Can you buy something to provide an extra worktop or a freestanding unit with worktop offcut added to provide extra space, even a decent bookcase can hold tins and packets.

theartfullodger

You are able to reject it then keep living where you are and/or find somewhere else privately.  More expensive, less security against being evicted for no reason at all (Thatcher's 1988 section 21).  Apologies for being blunt.

Mildreds_Earrings

The Council or Housing Association may have a policy on the size of their kitchens but not necessarily how many units, worktops etc. Don't forget, you can always complete a property alteration form to apply to make your own alterations, additional worktops, cupboards etc but you would have to pay for that. 

Word of warning: If you refuse social housing accommodation on the basis of there not being enough worktops etc, then good luck on being offered another property. 

Mmac19

Mildreds_Earrings said:

The Council or Housing Association may have a policy on the size of their kitchens but not necessarily how many units, worktops etc. Don't forget, you can always complete a property alteration form to apply to make your own alterations, additional worktops, cupboards etc but you would have to pay for that. 

Word of warning: If you refuse social housing accommodation on the basis of there not being enough worktops etc, then good luck on being offered another property. 

I definitely wouldn't refuse it. The issue is space. There is limited cupboards and worktop space as the kitchen is so small! There wouldn't be any room to add in extra units. Thank you for your reply.

Norman_Castle

If the other extensions are identical its likely they were done by the same owner at the same time. Its possible the work was offered to a previous tenant who rejected it. Ask the council about the possibility of having this property extended.

This might be relevant https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/7812/138355.pdf

Mmac19

theartfullodger said:

You are able to reject it then keep living where you are and/or find somewhere else privately.  More expensive, less security against being evicted for no reason at all (Thatcher's 1988 section 21).  Apologies for being blunt.

Not an option. I am not able to reject it as I cannot continue living where I am. There are currently no private or estate agent lettings in our area, I have been on an waiting list at every estate agents for almost a year now. I'm not considering giving it up at all. I'm just concerned that it isn't functional and there won't be enough space to prepare a meal. A home is still a home, just would be helpful to have more information.