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HOUSING.
Housing Survey
Section 1 of the Housing Repairs and Rents Act, 1954,
which came into operation on the 30th August, 1954, provides
that every local authority shall within one year submit to the
Minister proposals for dealing with houses in their district
which are unfit for human habitation. In London, these
proposals are to be submitted jointly by the London County
Council and the respective Metropolitan Borough Councils.
A survey of all the dwelling houses in the Borough was
commenced in December, 1953, in anticipation of the passing
of the Act and at the end of 1954 this task had been almost
completed.
Certificates of Disrepair
Under the provisions of the Housing Repairs and Rents
Act, 1954, a landlord may, subject to certain conditions,
increase the rent of a dwellinghouse. One of the conditions is
that the house shall be in good repair, and if a tenant is not
satisfied that the condition of the property justifies an increase
in the rent, he may on payment of a fee not exceeding one
shilling apply to the local authority for a Certificate of Disrepair,
which if granted, relieves him of the liability to pay the
"repairs increase," until such time as the landlord has carried
out the necessary works and secured from the local authority,
by similar application, a Certificate of Revocation. These
provisions also apply to increases of rent permitted by the
Increase of Rent and Mortgage Interest (Restrictions) Act, 1920.
Any certificate issued under the Rent Acts, which was in
force immediately before the commencement of the Housing
Repairs and Rents Act, remained effective as though it had
been given under the latter Act.
Certificates issued during the year under the Rent Acts,
i.e. prior to the 30th August, numbered 14 Certificates of Disrepair,
and 2 Revocation Certificates.
With the coming into operation of the new Act, however,
the number of applications rose steeply and up to the end of
the year a further 107 Certificates of Disrepair and 13 Revocation
Certificates had been issued. Of the 107 Certificates of
Disrepair, 100 were in respect of increases of rent claimed under
the 1954 Act, and 7 for increases under the Act of 1920.