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Part 3 Apartment Buildings and Boarding Houses

The objective of this part of the bylaw is to provide for licensing and inspection of apartment buildings and boarding houses where necessary, and to ensure conditions do not arise that may threaten the health and safety of tenants.

The bylaw is made pursuant to The Local Government Act 1974 and also provides for licence fees and recovery of reasonable costs where necessary.

1.0 Interpretation
This part of the bylaw shall be in addition to the provisions of Part 1 Introductory and if this part of the bylaw is inconsistent with Part 1 Introductory then the provisions of this part of the bylaw shall prevail.

APARTMENT means a portion of a building or a room or suite of rooms forming part of an apartment building and which is occupied or intended or designed to be occupied by one family for living and sleeping purposes.

APARTMENT BUILDING means a building in which accommodation is provided for three or more families living independently of one another, with or without a common right to the use of cooking or laundry facilities, sanitary conveniences, entrances, passages, stairways or open spaces; and where necessary includes a portion of a building or a combination of two or more such buildings or parts thereof; but does not include any building comprising wholly or principally owner-occupier flats, or any single storey building comprising wholly or principally apartments each of which is completely self-contained and has its own separate outside entrance.

BOARDER means a person for whom any room or part thereof or rooms in a boarding house is or are provided as a lodging or for his/her use or occupation and to whom whole or partial board is also supplied.

BOARDING HOUSE means a residential building in which lodging alone or board and lodging is provided for a single night or longer for six or more lodgers or boarders, with or without the use of furniture, and includes; a guesthouse, rooming house, private hotel, hotel, motel, residential club, hostel and residential institution; and where necessary includes a portion of such a building or combination of two or more such buildings or part thereof but does not include:

a) Any hospital as defined in Section 2 of The Hospitals Act 1957;
b) Any home for aged persons required to be licensed under Section 120A of The Health Act 1956;
c) Any private hospital required to be licensed under part V of The Hospitals Act 1957;
d) Any home that is required to be registered or deemed to be registered under Section 364 of The Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989;
e) Any child care centre required to be licensed by regulations made under the provisions of The Education Act 1989;
f) Any home required to be registered under part II of The Disabled Persons Community Welfare Act 1975;
g) Any camping ground required to be licensed under regulations made under Section 120B of The Health Act 1956.

FAMILY includes one person living alone; and also includes two or more persons whether related or not, living together but independently of other persons living in the same building.

KEEPER means the person, whatever may be the nature or extent of his interest in the premises, by whom or on whose behalf a boarding house let in lodgings or for occupation, or by whom or on whose behalf an apartment building is let in dwelling units, or who for the time being receives or is entitled to receive the proceeds or profits arising from such lettings.

LODGER means a person to whom any room or part thereof or rooms in a boarding house is or are let as a lodging for his/her use or occupation and to whom no board is supplied.

OWNER-OCCUPIER FLAT means a residential flat in respect of which any person has a right of occupation under a lease or licence or other tenure held by him/her by virtue of his/her being a shareholder in a company owning the building of which the flat forms part or by virtue of his/her being the owner of an estate or interest in the land on which that building is erected.
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2.0 Licences
2.1 No person shall use or cause or permit to be used any building or part of a building as a boarding house or an apartment building, such as the council may prescribe, unless they have been licensed by the council, the licence is still in force, and they comply with all conditions of this part of the bylaw.

2.2 Every application for the licensing of premises as a boarding house or an apartment building shall be signed by the person proposing to use those premises for the purpose.

2.3 Every applicant shall supply such other information as required by the council. Every initial application for a licence shall be accompanied by a plan of each floor to a scale of not smaller than one to 100 showing the position, dimensions, and designation of every room in the building and accessory buildings, if any, and the relationship by dimension of such building and accessory buildings with the boundaries of the site.

2.4 For every licence issued under this part of the bylaw and for every transfer of a licence the applicant shall pay such fees as the council may by resolution from time to time prescribe. Additional fees may also be prescribed for the reasonable recovery of costs from the licensee or keeper, for the investigation or enforcement of specific parts of this bylaw by an aAuthorised oOfficer as is necessary.

2.5 The council may refuse to grant or transfer a licence in terms of this part of the bylaw to any person if it is satisfied that they are not a person of good character, or if the premises in respect of which an application is made do not comply with this part of the bylaw, or any other bylaw of the council.

2.6 The council may suspend or cancel the licence wholly or for such period as it thinks fit if satisfied:
- That the licensee is of bad character and reputation or otherwise not a fit and proper person to hold such a licence; or
- That the building has become insecure or is being used in a disorderly manner so as to be obnoxious to the neighbouring inhabitants or to the public or that it is being used for other purposes than those stated in the licence.

Before the council suspends or cancels any licence under this clause an authorised officer shall give notice in writing to the licensee giving the licensee the opportunity to appear before the Environment Committee of the council at a time and place fixed in such notice to show why such licence should not be cancelled or suspended.
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3.0 Compliance with Statutory Requirements
3.1 Nothing in this part of the bylaw shall dispense with or supersede any requirements in any statutory provisions or bylaws or orders made thereunder, regulating existing buildings, the erection of new buildings, or the alteration of or addition to existing buildings.

3.2 The licensee or the keeper of any apartment building or boarding house shall ensure the requirements of The Fire Services Act 1975 and The Fire Safety and Evacuation of Building Regulations 1992 are being complied with.

The council may, at its discretion, limit the number of occupants or boarders in any apartment building or boarding house where in its opinion the public safety of the occupants or fire egress from the building is at risk.

3.3 Every keeper shall at all reasonable times allow free access to every part of his/her boarding house or apartment building, as the case may be, to any authorised officer and every person other than the keeper residing in such boarding house or apartment building shall at all such times allow free access to every part of such boarding house or apartment building occupied by him/her to any such authorised officer, and shall not wilfully obstruct or hinder that officer.

3.4 No person shall wilfully hinder, delay, or obstruct any authorised officer who has lawfully entered any boarding house or apartment building for the purpose of inspecting the premises, or, without reasonable excuse, neglect or refuse to render him/her such assistance as they may reasonably require for the purpose of inspection.

4.0 Overcrowding
4.1 No person shall cause or permit to be occupied any room in a boarding house or apartment building wholly or partly as a sleeping room unless such room has at least the area specified in the first column of the second schedule to The Housing Improvement Regulations 1947 for the number of persons sleeping in such room calculated in accordance with the second column of such schedule.

Number of Persons Permitted to Sleep in a Bedroom

Area of Bedroom	Number of Persons
Under 4.5 sq m	Nil
4.5 sq m or more but less than 6 sq m	½ in existing building, nil in new building
6 sq m or more but less than 8 sq m	1
8 sq m or more but less than 10 sq m	1½
10 sq m or more but less than 12 sq m	2
12 sq m or more but less than 14 sq m	2½
14 sq m or more but less than 17 sq m	3
17 sq m or more but less than 20 sq m	3½
20 sq m or more	4 persons and 1 additional person for each additional complete 5 sq m

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5.0 Cleansing and Maintenance of Boarding Houses and Apartment Buildings
5.1 The keeper of every boarding house shall:
a) Maintain all walls, floors, ceilings, and yards of the premises in a clean and sanitary condition at all times and the building generally in a good state of repair;
b) Maintain all utensils, fixtures, fittings, furniture, bedding, and receptacles they provide in a clean, sanitary, safe and operational condition at all times;
c) At least once in each year cause to be removed from every chimney all accumulations of soot;
d) Cause all floors and yards to be thoroughly swept each day and washed or otherwise thoroughly cleansed once in each week;
e) Cause all refuse to be removed from all rooms daily and cause all receptacles for such refuse to be cleansed at least once daily;
f) Provide sanitary facilities in accordance with relevant legislation;
g) Provide sufficient laundry facilities to the satisfaction of the council for the use of all boarders or lodgers;
h) Where any meals are prepared or served by boarding house staff or by residents, set aside a room as a kitchen to be used solely for the preparation and storage of food and a dining room containing sufficient dining tables and chairs for the consumption of that food; and
i) The kitchen shall be adequately constructed to facilitate cleaning and shall be kept in a good and clean condition, free from infestation by insects, rodents etc. Adequate food storage facilities shall also be provided (including refrigerators and freezers as applicable) together with an approved means of cleansing kitchen utensils and equipment.

5.2 The keeper of every apartment building shall:
a) Maintain all walls, floors, ceilings, and yards of those parts of the premises used in common by two or more families in a clean and sanitary condition at all times, and the building generally in a good state of repair;
b) Maintain all utensils, fixtures, fittings, furniture and receptacles in common use in a clean and sanitary condition at all times;
c) At least once in each year cause to be removed from every chimney all accumulations of soot;
d) Cause all floors and yards of those parts of the premises in common use to be maintained in a clean and tidy condition at all times; and
e) Any kitchen used in common shall be adequately constructed to facilitate cleaning and shall be kept in a good and clean condition, free from infestation by insects, rodents etc. Adequate food storage facilities shall also be provided (including refrigerators and freezers as applicable) together with an approved means of cleansing kitchen utensils and equipment.

5.3 In carrying out the duties imposed on him/her by clauses 5.1 and 5.2 of this part of the bylaw, the keeper shall comply with any requirements made by the council.
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6.0 Lighting of Common Passages, etc
6.1 The keeper of every apartment building and boarding house shall maintain adequate artificial lighting for use whenever natural lighting is not sufficient in all common hallways, stairways, passages, lift, and all rooms used in common.

7.0 Ventilation
7.1 The keeper of every boarding house or apartment building shall cause all such means of ventilation as are provided for any room, vestibule, lobby, passage, hallway, or staircase in the boarding house or apartment building, or for any water closet or urinal compartment belonging to such premises, to be maintained at all times in good order.

7.2 The keeper of every boarding house shall cause the window of every room in the boarding house, and the keeper of every boarding house or apartment building shall cause every window in every part of the premises in common use in the boarding house or apartment building, to be kept sufficiently open for such time every day as may be necessary for the purposes of ventilation.

8.0 Furniture
8.1 Every bedroom in a boarding house shall be provided with beds, wardrobe, and clothes storage space which shall be adequate for the requirements of the number of persons authorised to be accommodated in such room.

8.2 Every dinning room shall be provided with adequate seating and tables to allow all guests to take their meals without undue delay within the times such meals are offered.

8.3 The keeper of every boarding house shall cause all beds, bedclothes, and bedding to be kept clean and in good condition, and clean bed linen and towels to be furnished to each occupant of a boarding house at least once in each week and to every newly arrived boarder and lodger. They shall cause the bedclothes of every bed in such house to be removed from such bed as soon as convenient after every bed shall have been vacated and shall cause all such bedclothes and the bed from which such bedclothes have been removed to be adequately cleaned.

9.0 Right of Appeal
9.1 Any keeper of a boardinghouse or apartment building who considers him/her self aggrieved by any decision, order or direction given by an authorised officer of the council in exercise of any discretionary authority vested in him/her by any provision of this part of the bylaw shall have the right of appeal to the council which may reverse, confirm, or modify any such decision, order, or direction.
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