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Houses Let in Lodgings.
The Bye-laws made by the Vestry under Sec. 94 Public Health
(London) Act, 1891, were sanctioned by the Local Government
Board Order, 1898, were at once put into operation, and have
been actively enforced during the past year.
At the outset those houses only which were let to four or more
families were placed upon the Register; this was afterwards
extended to houses in which three families were resident. It will
be manifest that the number of families occupying a house
cannot be adopted as a standard of overcrowding, and that it
may exist with two or even one family as its occupants, and such
is occasionally found to be the case and they have been dealt
with under Sec. 2 (e) of the Act.
Experience shows that although registration considerably
increases the work of the Sanitary Inspectors, it conduces to the
better management and condition of tenement houses, and must
tend to improve the comfort and health of the occupiers.
The houses registered under the old Bye-laws numbered 16
Registered during 1899 125
Total now on Register 141
Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1890.
Under part 2 of this Act the premises known as Lines
Buildings, Richard's Place, Old Street, have been closed. The
buildings have only been erected about ten years, but were of
very faulty construction. They consist of two separate blocks,
situated at the end of a cul-de-sac and about 6 ft. apart and connected
on the first floor by a bridge. They have no back windows
or means of through ventilation, and by reason of the height
and close proximity of the two buildings the lower rooms are
quite dark. They were originally intended to accommodate five
families, but soon became overcrowded, and were registered as
Tenement Houses under the Public Health Act; but the
occupants could not be induced to obey the Bye-laws, and the
premises soon became dirty and dilapidated and there appeared