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reasonable rent. Naturally, under such circumstances there
are frequent changes of occupants, and in general the conditions
of living in such houses are most unsatisfactory. The
houses, so far as they are known, are all registered as tenement
houses.
In a somewhat similar category is the class of house in which
the tenant lets off rooms to two or more families, charging sufficient
rent to his sub-tenants to cover the whole, or nearly the
whole rent of the house. These premises are practically always
overcrowded, and in many cases the sub-letting arrangement
is made without the knowledge or concurrence of the owner, and
it is very probable that the conditions under which the subtenants
live are often unsatisfactory, and in the absence of
complaint remain unremedied until the Sanitary Inspector pays a
"House to House" visit. It appears to me that these are
instances of profiteering which ought not to be allowed, and
which at present cannot be prevented.
In addition to cottage property, there are many blocks of
flats in the borough, including more than 4,000 separate tenements.
Recently both the London County Council and the
Borough Council have erected blocks of flats, but apart from
these, quite a number of the older blocks are well designed,
administered and maintained. On the other hand, one or two
of these blocks of dwellings are very far from being satisfactory.
A particularly bad example is to be found in Wolseley Buildings,
Dockhead. At the request of the London County Council, who
proposed to deal with this block as an improvement area under
the Housing Act, 1930, these buildings were the subject of a
special inspection made by Mr. H. E. Butcher. The block was
built in 1883, and is, therefore, not very old. The design, planning
and amenities are alike bad, but by abating overcrowding,
replanning and doing necessary repairs the buildings could be
rendered fit for human habitation. No doubt this was one of the
reasons which actuated the London County Council in selecting
this block as one of three areas in London to be dealt with as
improvement areas under the new Act. There are, in all, 191
tenements, with 1 milkshop, an office, workshop and 1 hairdresser's
shop. Of these, 163 tenements consist of two rooms,