Toilet in the Kitchen is this illegal?

Question

I rented a shop in the uk, and my wife worked there, she became ill, so i took over, i then became ill, being sick etc....
The kitchen and toilet are in the same room with no divider, and the sink unit is the only sink in the building.
Is this illegal, and can i walk away from the lease.

o []
[][][]

the abvove is a plan the o is the toilet,
the box on its own is the sink unit
the three boxes is the work surface, toaster and kettle.

Answer 1

yes , it is not allowed in a house, even next door to a kitchen so i am sure it is not allowed in a business.

Answer 2

You cannot walk away from the lease. Unless you follow the contractural obligations for ending the agreement, you are always liable for the payment.

You should have checked this before you moved in, but if you are in now, it is really your liability

There needs to be a dividing WALL between the 2, and a door as well for three reasons:
1) Stops airbourne bacteria from the toilet infecting food
2) Stops the smell interfering with you when you are cooking to put you off.
3) Provides privacy when one is using the toilet

You need to get it sorted.

Remember to talk to the landlord before fitting a dividing wall, and perhaps a new sink.

Answer 3

YES!! It's illegal. There has to be a door between the two rooms. I know this from when we were at uni. Our bathroom was off the kitchen, but because there was a door inbetweem, this was deemed to be okay. Thouh I wasn't overly keen on the smells some of my scrummy flat mates left there whilst I was cooking!!

When you flush the toilet, germs are sprayed about 10 feet I think which explains why you both got ill.

Go to a hygeine providers website such as Initial and it should tell you the facts and figures about germs in the bathroom.

It might be worth speaking to a letting agency about hygeine laws with regards to the kitchen and bathroom being in the same room.

Answer 4

Sounds like an interesting layout!

I know that with homes you have to have a space between the toilet and kitchen ( and doors to separate them, in other words you have to go through two doors to get to the toilet from the kitchen)

I am not certain when this law came in, or if it applies to retail premises (I wouldn't think it would be any differ net and I would hope it would be stricter!)

So this depends on how old the shop is and when it was last refurbished.

I would say the best place for a definite answer would be citizens advise or your solicitor should know and be able to advise the best course of action.

I certainly wouldn't want to work there!

Good luck!

Answer 5

I'm sure this isn't legal. You may not have a toilet leading off a kitchen. Consult the health and safety officers. I think it is a fact that the spray from a toilet can cominate surfaces 6 ft away, which is why you should take care where you put your toothbrush if you have a single bathroom/toilet.
(Makes you wonder though - I asked whether or not it was wrong for mothers to breastfeed their babies in toilets and most people thought it was perfectly acceptable!)

Answer 6

Yes it is illegal, ask the landlord to fix the problem...he/she can get a grant to carry out the necessary work also read the lease it must have something in it about the landlords obligations regarding the condition of the property and the level of service he/she has to provide. As a last suggestion, if they are happy to rent an illegal property (to save money) they probably have tried to save money on drawing up the lease, get someone with some knowledge of contracts to read it, if its not worded correctly you will be able to walk away as it will not be binding.....good luck

Answer 7

You knew the position of the toilet before taking on the lease and legality depends on #1, how old the premises are (prior to current legislation, there was no requirement to have a divided loo nor to cater for disabled) #2 how many employees work there #3 if the toilet is required for 'public' use.

That's not your problem - your problem is lack of Hygiene, and if you serve food -BIG problems.

Get hold of your local Health & Safety officer.

Answer 8

You are making it sound like anyone who is making a cup of tea, can spectate someone on the loo, I assume therefore that there is a door between the two, Environmental regulation state that if there is independent washing facilities in the WC then this is permissible, naturally if there are no hand washing facility in the WC then two partitions (door) have to separate both areas. In terms of your lease agreement, you can only contest if there is a breach of the agreement (i suggest that you read it). If you call the local authority and it is contravening, they will only shut down the loo facilitates, not backup your claim to walk away from the agreement....

Answer 9

Put up a Divider,you must have been awre of the situation prior to signing a Lease surely.No you cannot walk away from the lease,and it sounds as though you are using this as an excuse to do so.

Answer 10

Environmental health officers 'EHO's will not accept this. You should have a clear division between the kitchen and toilet such as a dividing passage / two doors etc. As for the lease. You took it out and had viewed the building so buyer beware is the rule.

Answer 11

Illegal and unhygenic, but I assume you took on the lease knowing the toilet was in the kitchen, therefore it was your responsibility to check out whether it was legal or not.