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 1957
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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(ii) Number of new cases of overcrowding reported during the year 94 (372 units)
| (iii) Number of cases of overcrowding relieved during the year | 85 (325 units) | |
| (iv) Number of cases in which dwelling houses have again become overcrowded after the local authority have taken steps for the abatement of overcrowding | Nil | |
NOTE; Units means the number of equivalent persons in the
families obtained by regarding children between 1 and
10 years of age as "half-persons" and disregarding
infants under the age of 12 months.
Certificates of Disrepair in relation to Dwelling Houses
The Council's duty to issue certificates of disrepair in respect
of dwelling houses, not fit for habitation, subject to the Rent and
Mortgage Interest Restrictions Acts, was governed by the Housing Repairs and
Rents Act, 1954, until the 6th July, 1957, when the Rent Act, 1957, came
into operation and laid down a new procedure.
The following table gives a summary of the action taken under the 1954 Act during the year prior to the operation of the Rent Act, 1957:-
| Category | Applications for certificates of disrepair | Applications for certificates to be revoked | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. granted | No. refused | No. granted | No. refused | ||
| (a) Dwelling houses which have been the subject of a notice of repairs increase of rent under Part II of the 1954 Act | 3 | 1 | 7 | - | |
| (b) Dwelling houses which have NOT been the subject of a notice of repairs increase of rent under the 1954 Act, but in respect of which permitted increases of rent are recoverable under Section 2(l)(c) and (d) of the Increase of Rent and Mortgage Interest (Restrictions) Act, 1920 | Nil | 1 | Nil | ||
The law regarding the issue of Certificates of Disrepair was
changed by the Rent Act, 1957, and the following is a short summary of the
new procedure:-
The provisions allowing for the increase, within limits,
of the rents of houses remaining in control are coupled with
machinery dealing with repairs (First Schedule). The
standard of repair is to be such as will secure the remedying
of defects which ought reasonably to be remedied having due
regard to the age, character and locality of the dwelling.
The first stage is the tenant must serve a notice on
his landlord specifying the defects which he thinks should
be remedied. The landlord has six weeks in which to do