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104
During 1925 no new houses were erected by the Council.
Fourteen new houses were erected by private enterprise in the
South-west area of the Borough. These, strictly speaking, do not
come within the category of what can be called " working class
dwellings," being houses of the villa type let at quarterly rentals
or for sale. Plans for the erection of six more houses in this area
and six flats in North-west Battersea were submitted, but these
premises were not completed at the end of 1925.
Repair of Unfit Houses.
During 1925 the repair of unfit houses under the Housing
and Public Health Acts continued to be, as in previous years since
the conclusion of the War, the main housing activity of the Council.
The work carried out in this direction under the provisions of
section 28 of the Housing Act, 1919 (now section 3 of the Housing
Act, 1925) and under the nuisance clauses of the Public Health
(London) Act, 1891, will be found summarised on pp. 109-13.
So far as this aspect of the housing problem in Battersea is
concerned the results during the past five years have proved very
satisfactory. In the early days, i.e., on the passing into law of
the 1919 Housing Act, the application of the powers of the Council
contained in section 28 (now embodied in section 3 of the consolidated
Housing Act, 1925) gave rise to administrative and legal
difficulties. The Council were fortunate in securing an early decision
of the Courts in their favour, dealing with the power of recovery of
the expenditure incurred by the Council in carrying out works of
repair to insanitary house property in default of compliance by
the owner or owners concerned, reference to which will be found
in previous annual reports of the Medical Officer of Health (vide
Annual Report, 1921, pp. 119 et seq.). It is however inevitable
that some financial loss is incurred by reason of the fact that the
cost of the repairs carried out by the Council's Works Department
has been in excess of the sum recovered by the sale of the property
in the relatively few cases in which it has been found necessary to
resort to the administrative procedure in enforcing the powers of
the section. The effect, however, of the Council's persistent yet
discriminating use of the powers contained in section 28 has been
followed by the most satisfactory administrative results and, in
the great majority of cases, the necessary repairs in accordance
with the detailed specifications sent in for submission to the Housing
Committee are carried out by the owners concerned without the
service of statutory notices, and it is rarely necessary either to serve
notices or, even when notice has been served, for the Council to
require to make use of their powers in default.
The practice of giving notice to all owners concerned, where
notice under section 3 of the Housing Act, 1925, has been served,
has resulted in securing greater expedition in compliance with the
notice, the superior landlord or freeholder exercising his powers
under section 30 or under the covenants of his lease, requiring the
leaseholder to carry out the necessary repairs.