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50
place of present borowed light, and downstairs by converting
two rooms into one good living-room, one of these rooms
being totally devoid of light.
Closing order was served upon the owner, and the house
is now closed, but the owner has given instructions for the
necessary structural alterations to be carried out.
As the properties dealt with during the past four years
constituted the greater part of the insanitary property in the
District which could be dealt with as unfit for human
habitation, I think it well to give in table form appended
particulars of the total properties dealt with in this period.

From the above table it will be seen that 64% of the
property condemned has been put into a habitable condition ;
7% of it remains permanently closed; 21% has been demolished
; while the remaining 8% is in hand and will
possibly be demolished.
The work of putting these properties into repair
necessitated for the most part extensive structural alterations
and additions, a number of houses being practically reconstructed.
This work has cost some thousands of pounds, but
of its necessity, and the immense benefit from the point of
view of health and comfort of the tenants, and the improvement
of the District as a whole, there can be no doubt.
It is only natural that persons with vested interests try
to gain any advantage there is to be obtained for themselves,
and in dealing with such a complex problem as is presented
by insanitary property the obstacles are many.
I think it is worthy of note that in dealing with this
property, which has often involved the consideration of many
delicate questions, the whole of the work has been carried out