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Overcrowding.
Twenty cases of overcrowding were abated during the year and
twenty-two new cases were discovered, making a net increase of
two in the number of cases still to be dealt with. It is interesting
to note that the average number of occupants for each house in
the district is now 3.53, the lowest since 1939 when the figure was
3.44. The highest figure recorded was 4.02 in 1947, since when there
has been a slight fall every year.
Improvement Grants.
As a result of the increased publicity given to the provisions
of the Housing Act, 1949, dealing with the improvement or conversion
of dwellings with grant assistance, several enquiries were
received. Some intending applicants did not appreciate that luxury
improvements were outside the scope of the scheme and others ran
into difficulties with their Building Societies. The number of formal
applications received therefore was only eight, two of which were
refused, two given grants of 331/3% of the approved expenditure and
three 50%, the remaining application being withdrawn.
Certificates of Disrepair.
It appears that few property owners in this district have been
able to comply with the conditions laid down in the Housing
Repairs and Rents Act, 1954, for increasing the rents of their
houses. Consequently only 30 applications were received for
certificates of disrepair under the Act; all were granted. Fifteen
certificates, some of which were issued in 1954, were revoked upon
application by the owners.
Moveable Dwellings.
There has been little change in the number of caravans in the
District, which still stands at approximately 120, almost all on
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