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the locality, the type of house, the rent paid and in
many cases also the type of tenant. Every case for a
certificate under this Act is brought before the Public
Health Committee, who use their discretion as to
whether they will or will not act upon the report of
the Sanitary Inspector. As a matter of fact, during the
past year the opinion of the Sanitary Inspector has been
upheld by the Committee on every occasion.
Houses Let in Lodgings.—During 1925, the proposed
by-laws under Section 26 of the Housing Act, 1925, in
respect of houses let in lodgings, were still further
deliberated upon by the County Council and the
Metropolitan Borough Councils. As an outcome these
by-laws have, early in 1926, been approved by the
Minister of Health, with certain modifications. The
main modification made by the Minister is the definition
of " houses let in lodgings." In the draft
by-laws a lodging-house was defined as " a house or
part of a house intended for use or occupation by
the working class let in lodgings and occupied by the
members of more than one family, but shall not
include a house in which the tenant resides on the
premises and in which not more than two persons in
addition to the tenant and his family also reside at any
one time." The definition as modified by the Minister
of Health excepts from the classification of a lodginghouse
" a house in which the tenant resides on the
premises and in which not more than one family is
lodged." This alteration will meet to some extent the
objections raised by many members of the Public
Health Committee as to the wide scope of the original
definition, but at the same time I am doubtful from a
purely public health point of view whether the revised
definition is an improvement, for it will certainly
exempt from the provisions of the by-laws many houses
to which it is desirable they should apply. It is
hoped gradually to put these by-laws into operation
during 1926. During the five-year period under
review no action has been taken under the old by-laws
of the Metropolitan Borough Council as they were
found in practice to be comparatively useless.