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2. Inspection and Measuring.—This has not given rise
to any difficulty.
3. Registration.—No difficulty has arisen here.
4. Service of Notice.—The most serious difficulties are
met with here, where the drain or drainage of the house is found
defective as in bye-law 10, or where other structural works are
required. The landlord in these instances, unless he is actual
owner, is incapable of executing such works.
In these cases we avoid the difficulty by serving the notice
to abate the nuisance upon the actual owner under the Public
Health (London) Act, 1891. But in view of the definition
of "landlord" quoted it does not appear as if this action could be
legally maintained.
5. Overcrowding.—No difficulty has been encountered in
getting this nuisance abated. On reference to the table it will
be seen that 58 cases of overcrowding have been satisfactorily
abated by the inspectors without resort to legal proceedings.
The above comments upon the year's work under the bye-laws
for "Houses let in Lodgings" are preliminary to making the
suggestion that they should be amended. In the first place it
must be assumed that structural works should be executed by
the owner of the house. It is not unreasonable to ask from the
owner that, in return for a fair rent, the house should be maintained
in such a state that the tenant may live in it in comfort
and without danger or injury to health. For this to be
realised, the house should be clean, structurally in good order,
with drains and sanitary conveniences in good condition
The tenant rightly expects all these for the rent he pays,
Assuming this, the bye-laws should be drafted to cause the
maintenance of these conditions to fall upon the owner of the
house. The cleanliness of the staircase and passages, the
floors, yard, etc., should fall upon the tenants. In order to