London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Camberwell 1935
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Camberwell.
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55
Housing Act, 1935. Overcrowding.
This Act placed on every local authority the duty of causing
an inspection of their district to be made with a view of ascertaining
what dwelling-houses therein are overcrowded, and to prepare and
submit to the Minister a report showing the result of the inspection
and the number of new houses required in order to abate overcrowding
in their district, and, unless they are satisfied that the required
number of new houses will be otherwise provided, to prepare and
submit to the Minister proposals for the provision thereof.
For the purpose of carrying out this inspection, a temporary
staff was engaged consisting of 38 enumerators, 23 survey assistants,
and 9 clerical assistants.
This survey which commenced on November Ist, 1935, was
well advanced at the end of December 1935.
A standard for determining whether a dwelling-house is
overcrowded or not is laid down in the Housing Act, 1935.
A dwelling-house shall be deemed for the purposes of this
Act to be overcrowded at any time when the number of persons
sleeping in the house either : —
(a) Is such that any two of those persons being ten years old or more of
opposite sexes and not being persons living together as husband and wife, must
sleep in the same room, or
(6) Is, in relation to the number and floor area of the rooms in the house,
in excess of the permitted number of persons as defined in the First Schedule of the
Act which is as follows :—
TABLE I.
| Where a house consists of | The permitted number of persons is |
| (a) One room | 2 |
| (6) Two rooms | 3 |
| (c) Three rooms | 5 |
| (d) Four rooms | 7½ |
| (e) Five rooms or more | 10 |
| with an additional 2 in respect of each room in excess of 5. |
TABLE II.
| Where a room in a house has a floor area of | The permitted number of persons is |
| (a) 110 sq. ft. or more | 2 |
| (6) 90 sq. ft. or more, but less than 110 | 1½ |
| (c) 70 sq. ft. or more, but less than 90 | 1 |
| (d) 50 sq. ft. or more, but less than 70 | ½ |
| (e) Under 50 sq. ft. | Nil |
The expression the "permitted number of persons" means, in relation to
any dwelling-house, either:
(a) The number specified in the second column of Table I above in relation
to a house consisting of the number of rooms of which that house consists, or
(b) The aggregate for all the rooms in the house obtained by reckoning,
for each room therein of the floor area specified in the first column of Table II
above the number specified in the second column of that Table in relation to that
area, whichever is the less.