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37
HOUSING
The number of repeals, minor amendments, cross references, etc., is very great. A
"Synopsis" of the provisions of the "Housing Acts 1890—1919" was prepared for the information
of the Housing Committee by the Medical Officer of Health at the end of 1919 and
printed in 1920. The Ministry of Health issued a "Manual"—two volumes—in the same year.
A Bill to codify the "Housing Acts" is much needed.
In July 1919, the Ministry of Health appointed a "Housing Board" for London, and,
acting under Section 1 of the Housing, Town Planning, etc., Act of the year, called for a
survey of the housing conditions of the Borough.
Surveys.—Between July and October, 1917, certain information as to housing
accommodation in the Borough was compiled at the request of the (then) Local Government
Board. The more important facts collated were as follow:—
The number of houses rated up to £20 2,971
„ „ „ „ £20.80 1,876
Of the "houses" included in the above categories, 112 were flats separately rated, and a
considerable proportion of the first category were tenements over stables.
The number of vacant houses suitable for the working classes was 49
No houses of either of the above categories had been erected since 1911.
In July, 1919, the Ministry of Health called for a more complete survey in pursuance of
Sec. 1 of the Housing, Town Planning, &c., Act, 1919, together with a "Scheme for the
provision of new houses." The more important results of the survey are included here.
There are 177 factories and 1,204 workshops in the Borough, including 7 factories and 382 workshops
occupied by outworkers. The factories included one of margarine and an oil refinery. Of the 1,381 premises
(both classes) trades connected with dress (589 )and boots (120) were 51 per cent., laundries (123) and metal
workers (104) being also numerous.
A street-to-street inspection showed that there were 787 empty premises of which
212 were being got ready for occupation as private dwellings, and
33 were being converted into flats or maisonettes.
The remaining 542 houses included 41 which were "derelict"—6 of them being "closed" under the Housing
Acts—and 54 in occupation for National Services.
An analysis of the data relating to 540 houses - including 160 stable premises—showed that in the three
northern Wards, viz.:—Queen's Park, Harrow Road and Maida Vale—there was practically no vacant accommodation.
The first-named Ward had only 14 empty rooms (a derelict stable yard) and the last some 186 rooms in
15 houses. In Harrow Road Ward no house was reported to be vacant. Excluding the stable premises there
appeared to be some 380 houses, comprising upwards of 4,500 rooms capable of being adapted for habitation
by the working classes, but not all suitable for that purpose. It was probable that the foregoing figures
underestimated the actual amount of vacant accommodation as parts of houses and a good many flats which
were empty were not included in the return. The Rate Collectors reported that there were at the end of the
second quarter of 1920 823 dwellings and 46 flats "empty." The rapidity with which the Borough was
"filling-up" was evidenced by the fact that at the end of the corresponding quarter of 1919 the "empties"
comprised 1143 dwellings and 118 flats.
A large amount of information as to the rents of working class houses and flats was collected which
cannot be given here.

In certain instances the original ground leases had either expired or were on the verge of doing so and some
of these "areas" would have been reconstructed privately prior to 1919 had not the war broken out.
The insuperable obstacle to any improvement schemes on large scales is the fact that
there is no vacant land available in the Borough. The only plot of any size, that between
Lauderdale Road and Elgin Avenue, was let on building lease before the war. There is no
suitable accommodation within the Borough to house the population displaced by improvement
schemes. The directions in which the Council can, it is believed, successfully initiate housing
reforms will be indicated later.
In connection with the Survey complete tabulations were prepared of the trades and
businesses carried on in each Ward, and a classification of the streets in the Borough was
compiled based on the class of dwelling and the status of the majority of the residents.