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145
1. Houses let in Lodgings, etc.—When the Borough
was formed there were a number of houses let in lodgings,
registered under Bye-laws of Section 94 of the Public Health
(London) Act, 1891. Bye-laws first came into force in this
district in 1897, and from that year to 1900 the total number of
houses registered in all the constituent parts of the new Borough
was 327. During 1901 new Bye-laws had to be framed. After
considerable discussion and amendation these Bye-laws were
ratified by the Local Government Board in November, 1901, and
they are now in force. Provisions exist in the Bye-laws—
(a) For fixing the number of persons who may occupy a house or
part of a house which is let in lodgings or occupied by members
of more than one family;
(b) For the registration of houses so let or occupied;
(c) For the inspection of such houses;
(d) For enforcing drainage for such houses, and for promoting
cleanliness and ventilation in such houses;
(e) For the cleansing and lime-washing at stated times of the
premises;
(f) For the taking of precautions in case of any infectious disease.
The two main objects of the Bye-laws are the maintenance of
sanitation and cleanliness and the restriction of overcrowding.
The former is attained by a variety of Bye-laws (9-17), and the
latter by Bye-laws 3 and 4, which lay down the following
standard:—
3. The landlord of a lodging-house or a lodger therein shall
not knowingly cause or suffer a greater number of
persons than will admit of the provision of three hundred
cubic feet of free air space for each person of an age
exceeding ten years, and of one hundred and fifty cubic
feet of free air space for each person of an age not
exceeding ten years to occupy, at any one time, as a
sleeping apartment, a room which is used exclusively for
that purpose, and which is under the control of such
landlord or which has been let to such lodger respectively,
as the case may be.