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55
(1) It would appear that notices served under
Section 28 must be very definite. They must specify
exactly what work is to be done. They must be carefully
issued, and in the notice plenty of time must be
allowed the owners in which to do the necessary
repairs, e.g., in view of subsequent criticisms it is
much better to allow an owner two or three months
to do the repairs rather than try and force him to do
them within three weeks, as, in the latter alternative,
the owner may be able to plead that the time allowed
was insufficient.
(2) Apart from the statutory obligations under the
Act, viz., the service of the notice, it is wise to write
at least one, and preferably more, letters to the owner
pointing out that, if he fails to do the work before a
certain date, the matter will be placed before the
Public Health Committee with a view to the Council
carrying out the repairs themselves and charging him
with the costs. It is advisable that a further letter
should be written, when the Council has decided to
do the work, informing the owner of the exact date on
which the Council's workmen propose to enter the
premises.
(3) During the progress of the repairs the Sanitary
Inspector should visit the premises regularly and
keep detailed notes of the progress of the work on each
occasion. The greatest care must be exercised by
the contractor, be he municipal or outside tenderer,
to avoid doing any work which is not specified in the
notice, as, in the event of an appeal, the owner will
certainly do his best to escape this extra charge.
Careful account must be kept of each item of the
work. This might appear quite superfluous, but it
came out very markedly in our Inquiries that the
referee wished to know the exact cost of various items
of the work, not merely the total cost.
(4) One of the most difficult situations under this
Act arises where the owner, having done part of the
work demanded by the notice, leaves undone some
items which the .Council eventually do for him. In