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on this site is now approaching completion. The Society has undertaken
to construct working class dwellings in accordance with the lay-out
plan and with building plans approved by the Borough Council, the
London County Council, and the Ministry of Health. It has also been
agreed that the Society shall have the management of the buildings
on completion. During the process of reconstruction, the Borough
Council have made arrangements for the management of the remaining
properties on the area and the collection of rents, to be undertaken by
the Association of Women House Property Managers, as agents of the
Council.
Another area in the north-western district of the Borough contains
many houses which are old, worn out and require constant repairs and
renovations. This area is already scheduled for reconstruction, but
nothing has yet been done, owing to the operation of the Rent Restriction
Acts and the very high commercial value of the site.
One of the most unsatisfactory features in this, as in other boroughs,
is the presence of a large number of houses let in lodgings. These houses
were not constructed for the purposes to which they are now put. The
use of staircases, washhouses, yards, waterclosets, ashbins, etc., in
common leads to misuse and neglect, and the general environment is
not prone to the cultivation of habits of self-respect, morality or health.
Many such houses are without adequate provision for the cooking or
storage of food, and housework is carried on at great inconvenience.
While the great majority of these houses are structurally sound, a
number of them are old, worn out and below the modern standards of
sanitation and convenience. It is probable that only a minority of the
tenants would be able to pay economic rents for alternative accommodation,
having regard to the rents that require to be fixed for new dwellings
owing to the greatly increased cost of land and construction during recent
years.
Another problem is caused by certain old people, usually women.
Many of these live alone in a single room with no one to look after them.
Frequently they rely almost entirely on the Old Age Pension for sustenance.
Gradually growing feebler with the passage of time, they
eventually become unable properly to care for themselves or their homes.
Although every means of persuasion is tried, these cases Usually decline
to enter a Poor Law Institution and the condition often persists for a
lengthened period. Fortunately, during the year this problem has been
met by legislation. Under the London County Council (General Powers)
Act, 1928, it is now possible to arrange for the removal of such cases to
a suitable institution.
While in the majority of instances the defects found to exist in unfit
houses are due to the lack of proper management and supervision by
owners, from time to time complaints are made by owners regarding the
difficulties they experience in keeping their property in a reasonable
state of repair because of the dirty and destructive habits of a number
of their tenants. It is alleged that, through carelessness or wilful damage
by tenants, repairs and cleansing have to be carried out with unreasonable
frequency and that, as a consequence, it is impossible to maintain even