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Houses Let in Lodgings.
Forty-nine houses were on the register as houses let in
lodgings at the beginning of the year, and thirty-three houses
were added in 1902. It is to be hoped that that number will
be materially increased this year. There are many houses in
Battersea which come within the definition of "houses let in
lodgings," but in the case of many, perhaps most of them,
nothing would be gained, for obvious reasons, by placing
them upon the register. But there are many houses, particularly
in North-West Battersea, where a judicious administration
of the bye-laws would be productive of much good in
promoting cleanliness and preventing overcrowding.
In districts where the bye-laws have been enforced the
evils predicted by the owners of tenement houses have not as
a matter of fact arisen, and the bye-laws have proved to be of
great assistance in enabling the Sanitary Authority to maintain
a relatively decent standard of housing accommodation
in the poorer districts, where the people, being too poor to
pick and choose their houses, have to take such accommodation
as they can get and be thankful.
Bye-laws relating to houses let in lodgings usually
contain a clause by which tenements above a certain rental
are exempt from the operation of the bye-laws. In Battersea
this limit is fixed at 7s. 6d. for unfurnished and 10s. for
furnished tenements. In the early part of the year the London
County Council asked the opinion of Mr. C. A. Cripps, K.C.,
as to the legality of a clause of this kind. Mr. Cripps gave
the following opinion, which was sent by the County Council
to each of the Metropolitan Sanitary Authorities:—
"In my opinion Section 94 of the Act of 1891 is
imperative, and there is no power to exempt from the
operation of bye-laws for the registration of lodging-houses
any houses so occupied as to come within the lodging-house
definition. A bye-law in the Bethnal Green form, which
enables the local authority to exempt any or all lodging-houses
within their district, is not a compliance with the requirements
of the Act, and I am unable to agree with the view
put forward by the Local Government Board."