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42
With a view to securing the greatest possible advantage from new houses provided by the
borough council, the county council and housing associations working in Kensington, arrangements
were made in 1925 for those persons managing the new houses to notify the medical officer of health
immediately of the name and address of each tenant selected for a new home. The information
has enabled the officers of the public health department to know several weeks in advance of rooms
which will become vacant, with the result that they have been able to approach the owners (frequently
before they were aware that vacancies would arise in the near future) and urge that the rooms might
be let to Kensington families known to the public health department to be living under overcrowded
or unsatisfactory conditions.
The results have been as follows :—
No. of instances in which
No. of houses let rooms vacated have
and notified to been let to Kensington
M.O.H. in advance families living under
of occupation. unsatisfactory or overcrowded
conditions.
New houses provided by the borough
council 106 74
New houses provided by the London
county council 363 196
New houses provided by public utility
societies, etc. 367 221
FITNESS OF HOUSES.
Housing Act, 1930.
The following table gives a statement of the action taken and the results obtained during 1933
under Sections 17 and 18 of the Housing Act, 1930 :—
Notices served in 1932 which were outstanding on 1st January, 1933 79
Notices served from 1st January to 31st December, 1933 125
Section 17 notices withdrawn 6
Appeals by owners to the County Court (these have all been withdrawn
or adjourned) 6
Notices satisfactorily complied with by the owners 137
Cases in which the council carried out the work in default of the owners ... Nil
Notices in respect of which satisfactory progress was being made on
31st December, 1933 20
Notices in respect of which nothing had been done at the end of the
year (the time allowed had not expired in these cases) 35
Cases in which the council's contractors were engaged in executing
repairs in default of owners at end of the year 1
Total expenditure incurred by the council in executing repairs during
the year Nil
From the commencement of this work about eleven years ago up to the 31st December, 1933,
the council have expended £3,297 10s. 0d. in carrying out work in default of owners. Of this sum
£3,202 10s. 4d. has been recovered, and the outstanding amount of £94 19s. 8d. with interest is now
being collected.
In this period 997 houses have been dealt with under Housing Act repair procedure. Of this
number no less than 635 houses have been dealt with in the last four years, during which time certain
members of the staff have concentrated their time wholly upon this class of work.
Section 17 work involves very close co.operation between the town clerk, the borough
engineer and myself, and the satisfactory results which have been achieved would not have been
possible had it not been for the advice and help which have been given by my colleagues ;
and I would like to express my gratitude for the assistance they have given. The staffs of their
departments have been responsible for a large amount of the work, and all the officers have
performed their duties as one team.
During the year the council made closing orders under Sections 19 and 20 of the Housing Act,
1930, in respect of one underground room, with the result that the use thereof for sleeping purposes
has been prohibited.
The council also made closing orders in respect of 25 mews dwellings. In 16 cases these orders
have been complied with, but in nine the tenants have not yet left.
The council took action in 1933, under Sections 19 and 20, in respect of two dwelling.houses ;
and in each case the owner gave an undertaking that he would make the house fit for habitation.
In one case he has done so and the undertaking has been cancelled. In the other nothing has yet
beeh done, and the house remains unoccupied.
An undertaking given in 1932 in respect of another house was cancelled in 1933, the owner
having carried out the necessary work.