View report page

39
inexpedient, and where such surface is thoroughly cleansed, and
the paint, paper, or other covering is renewed, if the renewal
thereof be necessary for the purpose of keeping the premises in
a cleanly and wholesome condition.
"No. 26.—The landlord or owner of any lodging-house shall
provide and maintain, in connection with such house, watercloset
accommodation in the proportion of not less than one
water-closet for every ] 2 persons.
Penalties.
"Every person who shall offend against any of the Bye-laws
shall be liable to a penalty," etc.
The London County Council has already decided to alter the
Bye-law having reference to the provision of w.c. accommodation
for the inmates of houses let in lodgings (vide letter February
24th, 1904).
With reference to the annual cleansing, the Bye-law deserves
the attention of the Council, on account of the practical difficulty
that at present exists, rendering such Bye-law practically a dead
letter.
Section 91 of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, makes it
compulsory for every Metropolitan Sanitary Authority to make,
and enforce, Bye-laws as to houses let in lodgings, or occupied
by members of more than one family. Bye-laws were adopted
by the late Vestry on January 21st, 1897, and confirmed by the
Local Government Board on May 11th, 1897, and since that time
411 houses have been registered by the late Vestry (and 2 houses
since by the new Borough Council). With the re-arrangement
of the Parish Boundaries to form the new Borough of Lambeth,
certain houses (40) had to be transferred to other districts,
leaving within the Borough at the present time 373 registered
houses, containing 2,135 rooms. The Lambeth experience is
that an Authority's hands are weakened, if anything, in respect
of houses that are registered under the Bye-laws, due to the fact
that under the Bye-laws the responsibility for the annual
cleansing is transferred to the " landlord," who, under the
definition laid down in the Bye-laws, is not the " owner " as
defined by the Public Health (London) Act, under which such
Bye-laws are made. What works out in practice is that the
" landlord " is a person who has no money to expend on the
p