Cooking Facilities Essential for Dwelling

Uratemp Ventures Ltd v Collins Same v Carrell (CA TLR 10 December)

Cooking facilities are an essential attribute of a dwelling within the meaning of s1(1) of the Housing Act 1988. In order to create a letting of part of a house as a separate dwelling there must be an agreement by which the occupier has exclusive possession of essential living rooms of a separate dwelling house. ‘Essential living rooms’ provide the necessary facilities for living, sleeping and cooking. Thus a bed-sitting room with cooking facilities may be a separate dwelling even though the bathroom and laundry facilities might be elsewhere and shared with other people. The court should not apply a different test inconsistent with the existing authorities although in the absence of those authorities having regard to modern living practices and in particular the greater availability of restaurants, including fast food outlets, and of take away food which had already been cooked, it was questionable whether a bed-sitting room need have cooking facilities to be the home of the occupier.