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56
Housing, Town Planning Act, &c., 1909.
This Act imposes upon Sanitary Authorities duties of a highly
important character in connection with the sanitation of house
property. Under Section 17 (1) the duty devolves upon the
Sanitary Authority " to cause to be made from time to time
inspection of their district, with a view to ascertain whether
any dwelling-house therein is in a state so dangerous or injurious
to health as to be unfit for human habitation, and for that purpose,
it shall be the duty of the local authority and of every officer
of the local authority to comply with such regulations, and to
keep such records as may be prescribed by the Local Government
Board."
The Board made an Order, dated 2nd September, 1910,
prescribing regulations under Section 17 (1) of the Act.
During the year, notices under Section 15 were served by
Order of the Council upon the landlord to execute the necessary
works to make the dwelling houses Nos. 18, 20, 21, 22, 26, 27,
28 and 29 Didcot Street, reasonably fit for human habitation.
Underground Rooms.
The Housing, Town Planning, &c., Act, 1909, also gives
important powers to Sanitary Authorities in relation to underground
rooms. The Act provides that an underground room
habitually used as a sleeping place must be at least seven feet in
height from floor to ceiling, and must comply with such regulations
as the Sanitary Authority, with the consent of the Local
Government Board, may make. The Public Health Act contained
provisions (specified in detail) for preventing the use as sleeping
places of underground rooms separately occupied as dwellings,
but these provisions were rendered practically useless by the fact
that they do not apply if the rooms are at the same time occupied
with a room or rooms on the upper floor.
Regulations were made by the Council, as required by the
Housing, Town Planning, &C., Act, which were duly approved
by the Local Government Board and are now in operation in the
Borough.
An inspection of the underground rooms in the Borough
which was commenced in 1911 was continued during 1912 and
1913. The total number of rooms inspected during the year
was 351, 112 of which were found to be illegally occupied. The
structural defects and the number of rooms in which defects were
found to exist were as follows :—