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130
Tenements" they are recorded on the Register.
Owners are given a fortnight in which they may
state any valid reason why the house should not
be registered. Copies of the byelaws are sent to
the owners of all registered houses and printed
leaflets are sent or handed to owners, tenants
and lodgers explaining the responsibilities of each
party. Registered houses are inspected annually
and notices are served on owners, tenants or
lodgers according to the necessities of the cases.
Some owners have reduced the number of families
so as to place the houses outside the scope of the
byelaws and the Council have de-registered many
houses for this reason. A few owners have
welcomed registration because the annual inspections
have done so much good in promoting the co-operation
of the occupiers and encouraging them to maintain
good housing conditions.
Where houses are infested with bugs the mutual
co-operation of the Council, owner and occupiers
is necessary to cure the evil.
Overcrowding discovered during annual inspection
is dealt with for the benefit of all parties. Annual
cleansing is needed in most of the registered houses
and the majority of the occupiers have reacted
favourably to the inspections by doing more for
themselves than before. Constant attention is
required in the cases of houses occupied by several
families to prevent them from deteriorating through
over use. The ideal—one family per house or flat—
will be difficult to attain in London as the poorer
working classes require to live within easy reach
of their work on account of the expense of travelling
and tend to crowd into already congested areas.
Overcrowding. Overcrowding exists in Fulham
as in other boroughs, and one of the objects of the
Council in building the flats at Fulham Court and
Wyfold Buildings was to mitigate these conditions.