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apply to any house or part of a house "which is let in lodgings or
occupied by members of more than one family." A general power is given
to the Council to require in houses, which are in multi-occupation, an
adequate provision of the following services and amenities
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 36 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 controls (a) specifying
the works required to render the premises reasonably suitable for occupation
by those persons or households; (b) requiring the person in control, 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 90, 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.
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.
The Council have adopted certain standards of the essential
services and amenities which will be considered as satisfactory in
appropriate cases. These standards were enumerated at length in my
Report for 1955.
Slum Clearance
Action already taken
The following table gives details of the clearance areas
declared by the Council since 1950, when slum clearance work under the
Housing Acts, was recommenced up to the end of the year:-