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Natural lighting;
Ventilation;
Water supply;
Drainage and sanitary conveniences
Facilities for storage, preparation and cooking
of food, and for the disposal of waste water;
Overcrowding of sleeping rooms.
Section 11 enables the Council to take action if in their
opinion the premises are so defective in the matters set out
above as not to be reasonably suitable for the number of persons
or households in occupation. In such cases they may serve a
notice on the person in control: (a) specifying the works
required to render the premises reasonably suitable for
occupation by those persons or households; (b) requiring the
person in controls, in default of executing these works within
the prescribed period, to take such steps as are reasonably
open to him (including, if necessary, the taking of legal
proceedings) for securing a reduction in the number of persons
accommodated or the number of households, or both, as specified
in the notice.
Thus, where a notice is served, a choice is given, either
to carry out the specified works, or, alternatively, to reduce
the intensity of occupation of the house, in which case
possession of the house or parts of the house can be obtained
by an owner notwithstanding the Rents Acts.
Under Section 12, the Council may serve a notice on the
occupier, or the person having the control and management of
a house or part of a house, where excessive numbers of persons
are accommodated, specifying in relation to any room on the
premises the maximum number of persons by whom it is suitable
to be occupied for sleeping purposes at any one time, or, if
appropriate, that the room is unsuitable to be occupied for
sleeping purposes. It will be an offence after the notice has
become operative to cause or allow any rooms to be occupied
otherwise than in accordance with the notice, or to cause or
permit the accommodation to be so occupied that it is not
possible to avoid persons of opposite sexes over the age of
12 years (excluding persons living together as husband and wife)
occupying sleeping accommodation in the same room.
In view of the large number of multi-occupied houses in
Kensington, Sections 11 and 12 are of considerable importance,
applying not only to tenement houses and hostels, both of which
were formerly subject to byelaw control, but to boarding houses,
boarding schools, guest houses, and houses divided into one
room flatlets, which were not formerly subject to such control.
Even hotels might also be brought within the scope of these
sections, and whilst it might be inappropriate to apply them
generally to such premises, the two sections may be of value in
dealing with staff quarters where these are unsatisfactory.
The premises affected vary considerably and render
impracticable the provision of a single rigid code of requirements
applicable to all cases; indeed, such a code would appear to be
contrary to the wishes of the Minister, who has expressed the
view that the provision of the prescribed services and amenities
should be decided on the merits of each case.
During the year, the Public Health Committee gave careful
consideration to the question of applying Sections 11 and 12,
and, for general guidance, decided to recommend the Council to
adopt the following as standards of the essential services and
amenities which will be considered as satisfactory in
appropriate cases:-
A house or part of house which is let in lodgings or