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56
Such cases it is very necessary that the Sanitary
Inspector should make most detailed notes of exactly
what the owner has already done and that, however
badly the owner may have done the work, none of
what he has already done shall be done over again
by the Council.
At the conclusion of the first Ministry of Health
Inquiry which arose out of the appeal of the owner
against the charges made by the Council for work
done, I issued the following among other instructions
to the Sanitary Inspectors, in order to avoid difficulties
which had arisen at the Inquiry :—
(1) Inspectors must make a note in their diaries whenever they
see an owner or a builder either at the property or at the
office.
(2) Where a limited amount of the work specified in the notice
is already being carried out by the owner, Inspectors
must keep full notes of the exact amount of the work
done each time they visit the premises, particularly where
work is being badly done.
(3) If Inspectors take exception to the way work is being done
and consider that it is scamped or unsatisfactory,
definite reasons and examples must be given.
(4) Inspectors should, if at all possible, see builders on the job
and should make an effort to do so.
(5) On completion of all the work an owner intends to do, a
report should be made out, setting out what has been
left undone.
(6) Where work is being done by the Council under Section 28
in default of the owner, Inspectors should visit the
property from time to time and satisfy themselves that
nothing is being done which is not included in the original
notice served on the owner.
There are one or two difficulties which have arisen
in practice and which are worth noting.
In many cases, after the Council has got out estimates
for the work and has notified the owner that
the Council's workmen will enter the premises on a
certain date, the owner himself makes a desperate
effort and arrives with his workmen on the premises
a day or two before the Council are due to commence.
In such cases it would appear to be wise to allow
the owner to carry out the repairs himself. Where an