London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Kensington 1936
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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The following table shows the action taken during 1936 in respect of unfit parts of houses :—
| Outside improvement areas. | Inside improvement areas. | |
|---|---|---|
| 80 (152 rooms) | 92 (183 rooms) | |
| 5 (10 rooms) | 7 (14 rooms) | |
| (c) Undertakings by owners not to use for human habitation accepted | 2 (4 rooms) | |
| 32 (63 rooms) | 22 (42 rooms) | |
| 9 (18 rooms) | 1 (2 rooms) | |
| 2 (4 rooms) |
The 92 closing orders made inside improvement areas refer to basements in Treverton Street
improvement area, and an account of the steps taken to secure the vacation of these basements has
already been given.
Of the 80 closing orders made in respect of parts of houses outside improvement areas, 79 were
in respect of basement dwellings, the remaining case was in respect of a room on the first floor without
natural lighting or ventilation.
Of the 79 basements outside improvement areas closed last year, 23 were empty when the
closing orders were made, and in 8 other cases the basement families were able to move to adequate
accommodation upstairs in the same house. This left 48 families (202 persons) to be displaced.
Of this number 21 families (104 persons) were rehoused by the council, or, through their agency,
by the London county council and housing associations ; and 6 families (23 persons) are still living
in the basements. These 6 families who have not left the closed basements have been offered and
refused alternative accommodation.
For the past two years the council have not had to resort to legal proceedings to enforce closing
orders, but it may be that such will have to be taken in one or two of these six remaining cases during
1937.
| Outside improvement areas. | Inside improvement areas. | Totals. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notices served in 1935 which were outstanding on 1st January, 1936 ... | 16 | 109 | 125 |
| Notices served from 1st January, to 31st December, 1936 | 84 | 94 | 178 |
| Appeals by owners to the County Court against notices | — | ||
| Notices withdrawn | — | — | — |
| Notices satisfactorily complied with by the owners | 42 | 175 | 217 |
| Notices in respect of which the council carried out the work in default of the owners | 6 | 17 | 23 |
| Notices in respect of which progress was being made by the owners on 31st December, 1936 | 23 | 9 | 32 |
| Notices in respect of which the council's contractors were engaged in executing repairs at the end of the year | 2 | — | 2 |
| Notices in respect of which nothing had been done at the end of the year (the time allowed had not expired in these cases) | 26 | 2 | 28 |
From the time the council commenced enforcing the repair of houses by the service of Housing
Act notices up to the 31st December, 1936, they have expended £5,002 5s. 2d. in carrying out
work in default of owners. Of this sum, £4,287 15s. 5d. has been recovered, and the outstanding
amount of £738 15s. 6d. with interest, is being collected in instalments. The total expenditure
by the council during 1936 in executing repairs was £1,234 8s. 8d.
In the past fourteen years, 1,463 houses have been repaired under Housing Act procedure.