Most tenements were built when indoor cludgies were upmarket.
By which I mean the common close should be surrounded by solid masonry apar t from the flats' front doors - which traditionally in Scotland give onto a lobby separate from the indoor hall. Although not formally fire-rated, two doors is a fairly good barrier for smoke.
Thanks for the replies its not me doing the extracting i am on the receiving end of it.
He is not only blasting me with toilet smells he is blasting me with poisonous chemical irritants.....essential oils......causing me all sorts of health problems but enviromental health say they cant do anything because the argyle and clyde health board do not recognise essential oils as being a public health hazard.
This is despite the fact it is all over the net about these oils. The health board deny the irritants are air borne despite there being a medical condition called "air borne contact dermititis" which i have been suffering from for a year. This condition is specific to essential oils.
Disgraceful attitude from enviromental health. All the officer offered was the info about building regs. He is basically "passing the buck" but i thought i would check that the part of this info was correct because the info he obtained from the health board is garbage!
I certainly wouldn't want to be standing in the close being blasted by toilet smells.
You may be better to not concentrate on the alleged health effects, as they may be disputable, and instead concentrate on nuisance and damage related to moisture and condensation in the common parts of the building, which presumably you have a share in?
AIUI there is nothing to stop an extractor fan being ducted through a communal area, and I've seen it done with the duct exiting through the fanlight over the front door.
You may be better to not concentrate on the alleged health effects, as they may be disputable, and instead concentrate on nuisance and damage related to moisture and condensation in the common parts of the building, which presumably you have a share in?
AIUI there is nothing to stop an extractor fan being ducted through a communal area, and I've seen it done with the duct exiting through the fanlight over the front door.
Owain
Owain
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Yes owain thats good advice i am beginning to think that might be better plus someone has pointed me to public/private nuisance laws ;o)
Here we are; the relevant provision is in the Scottish Tolerable Standard f or housing (although other legislation may also apply):
6.22. For bathrooms, and other apartments, plus the kitchen, where there is no satisfactory openable window, they must have an alternative ventilation system. Normally this will be a mechanical device, such as an extractor fa n, but in some cases an assessor will find other systems such as a passive stack type (where warm, moist air passes through a vent into an almost vert ical duct and is expelled at an outlet on the roof). The device or system m ust vent directly to the outside and not into an adjacent apartment, circul ation space or common access route, such as a tenement close.
Housing (Scotland) Act 2006, Tolerable Standard
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The tolerable standard is a "condemnatory" standard; a house that falls bel ow it is not acceptable as living accommodation. Local authorities have a s tatutory duty and specific powers to deal with houses that fall below the t olerable standard (" BTS"). We explain the duty and powers in this chapter.
2.8. To meet the tolerable standard a house must comply with all the criter ia. In other words, the assessment is a simple "pass" or "fail". If a house does not meet even one of the criteria, then it is BTS.
2.9. Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 s. 85(1) places a duty on every local auth ority to secure that all houses in their area which do not meet the tolerab le standard are closed, demolished or brought up to the tolerable standard. This duty remains in force and subsequent legislation has not altered it. The Act does not restrict the duty to any specific tenure of housing.
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Therefore you can report your neighbour's house for being Below Tolerable S tandard, and ask the council why they are not complying with the duty to br ing it up to Tolerable Standard under the 1987 Act.
Here we are; the relevant provision is in the Scottish Tolerable Standard for housing (although other legislation may also apply):
6.22. For bathrooms, and other apartments, plus the kitchen, where there is no satisfactory openable window, they must have an alternative ventilation system. Normally this will be a mechanical device, such as an extractor fan, but in some cases an assessor will find other systems such as a passive stack type (where warm, moist air passes through a vent into an almost vertical duct and is expelled at an outlet on the roof). The device or system must vent directly to the outside and not into an adjacent apartment, circulation space or common access route, such as a tenement close.
Housing (Scotland) Act 2006, Tolerable Standard
formatting link
The tolerable standard is a "condemnatory" standard; a house that falls below it is not acceptable as living accommodation. Local authorities have a statutory duty and specific powers to deal with houses that fall below the tolerable standard (" BTS"). We explain the duty and powers in this chapter.
2.8. To meet the tolerable standard a house must comply with all the criteria. In other words, the assessment is a simple "pass" or "fail". If a house does not meet even one of the criteria, then it is BTS.
2.9. Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 s. 85(1) places a duty on every local authority to secure that all houses in their area which do not meet the tolerable standard are closed, demolished or brought up to the tolerable standard. This duty remains in force and subsequent legislation has not altered it. The Act does not restrict the duty to any specific tenure of housing.
formatting link
Therefore you can report your neighbour's house for being Below Tolerable Standard, and ask the council why they are not complying with the duty to bring it up to Tolerable Standard under the 1987 Act.
Owain
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Jeez owain thats EXACTLY what i am/have been searching for.
Who says? Do you have a unique insight into the motivations of man? In any case, a toilet (as opposed to a bathroom or shower room) will generate minimal moisture.
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