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entire population; 31,482 persons live in two-room tenements (or
31.2 per cent.), and 21,280 persons live in three-room tenements
(20.9 per cent.). Summarily, it may be said that 45.5 per cent, of
the population of Finsbury live in houses of two rooms or less, and
77.4 per cent, of the population live in tenements of four rooms or
less. It is this condition which affects the people of Finsbury more
almost than any other single fact.
During the year a large number of complaints of alleged
"overcrowding" have been made to the Department and each of
these has received careful investigation. Most of them proved to
be unfounded or grossly exaggerated. In 123 cases, however, overcrowding
has been reduced. This figure does not include 127 cases
of overcrowding abated in registered houses. Total 250.
We have also (as in 1901, 1902, and 1903) carried out systematic
inspection by day and night in certain streets and areas
known to be overcrowded. On the morning of August 17th,
between the hours of 12 midnight and 4 a.m., a night inspection
of certain of the registered houses let in lodgings was made.
In all, 50 houses were visited, comprising 185 occupancies or
tenements, containing 753 persons. The figures herewith reported
are drawn up as in my previous reports, on the standard laid
down in Bye-law No. 4 of the Regulations for Houses Let in
Lodgings. The Bye-law is as follows:—
4. 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 four hundred
cubic feet of free air space for each person of an age exceeding
ten years, and of two hundred 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
not 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.
Out of the 185 tenements which were inspected, 51 were found
to be overcrowded, as judged by this Bye-law. This gives a
percentage of overcrowding of 27.5.