A communal space can make or break an HMO. Get it right and tenants will thrive in a happy social environment (happy tenants stay longer!) Get it wrong and you'll be left with an expensive white elephant of a room, that's not only not used by tenants, but encourages them to stay in their rooms, potentially leading to isolation within the house.
Don't get me wrong here, we don't expect a Waltons-esque house where everyone shouts goodnight to each other and bursts into song, BUT a great kitchen does make for better house harmony. A great tenant relationship also means less calls to the landlord, so it's a win — win to us!
The interior designers at ROOST (our sister brand!) had this to say about planning a great communal kitchen....
The key component of a communal space, the kitchen...it's tempting to leave it up to the supplier to get the layout right, however speaking from experience, although Magnet and Howdens have kitchen designers in-house, they often don’t understand the intricacies of HMOs, so ALWAYS go with your own plan in mind.
Not sure where to start?
First things first, ALWAYS check your local council website as it's important to know what's legally required from you in terms of facilities. Downloadable pdfs can usually under "HMO space standards" on your council website that detail minimum m2 requirements, plus how many cookers/fridges/sinks you will need for the number of sharers.
They do vary but in general the minimum tends to be 1 set of facilities per 5 people, which includes:
5 or less tenants
1 x Oven & Hob
1 x Washer/Dryer
1 x Sink & Drainer
1-2 x Fridge Freezers
1 x Dishwasher (a nice to have not mandatory, but it does make a difference for cleanliness and young professionals especially will expect one!)
6 — 10 tenants
2 x Oven & Hob
2 x Washer/Dryer
2 x Sink & Drainer
2-3 x Fridge Freezers
1 x Dishwasher (at this size, a dishwasher will definitely help fight the mess!)
50cm worktop per person i.e. 2.5m for 5 people (this doesn’t need to be in one run)
1 x 50cm unit per person for dry food storage
Functionality First
You may have already heard of the kitchen triangle, i.e. the holy trinity of fridge, sink and hob/cooker. This is a great place to start for lower tenant numbers (or single homes) where only one set of facilities is needed. if you’ve got a good flow between these three elements, you’ve got a great base for a functional kitchen.
Things start getting more complicated when you introduce a second set of facilities. The temptation is to group by type for ease, especially with water appliances i.e. 2 cookers together / 2 sinks together to create zones. BUT this can lead to clashes...
There is a better way! The DOUBLE triangle - 6+ people...
By doubling up the triangle you end up with a much better functional space for multiple occupants, where individual tenants can move around the space, prep, cook and wash up, without getting in someone else’s way. This is a nice to have for 6-7 people, but becomes more and more necessary the higher number of people sharing one space. Adding an island or breakfast bar where possible is also a great way to introduce more storage, prep space and seating to a kitchen
And how this works in reality... from our interior design partner ROOST
Will you be embracing the double kitchen triangle in your next project? Tag us @themodernlandlord
