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system of improvement grants paid at the discretion of the local authority.
These standard grants are payable only in respect of the provision
of specified standard amenities and on the expenditure actually incurred
for this purpose. Provided certain conditions are satisfied, the owner
of the property can claim the grant as of right.
There are five standard amenities (listed in Section 4(l) as
shown below) eligible for standard grant, which is one half of the
cost shown to have been incurred in executing the works involved,
subject to a maximum payment of £155.
The maximum payment is reduced by the amount shown in parenthesis
in cases where the particular provision is omitted, as having
been already provided:-
(a) A fixed bath or shower in a bathroom (£25)
(b) A wash-hand basin (£5)
(c) A hot water supply. (£75)
(d) A water closet for the dwelling (£40)
(e) Satisfactory facilities for storing food (£10).
These amenities must be for the exclusive use of the occupants
of the particular dwelling. The dwelling must after improvement
be equipped with all five standard amenities.
During 1963, four applications for standard grants were
received in respect of individual premises. Of the two applications
approved, one was for the provision of all the standard amenities,
and the other was in respect of the provision of a wash-hand basin,
hot water supply and a water closet. The remaining two applications
were refused as the statutory conditions were not complied with.
Houses in Multiple Occupation
In the last few years the Council have given very serious
consideration to the question of improving tenement houses.
Many attempts have been made to obtain improvements by
exercising the Council's powers under the Public Health (London) Act,
1936. These attempts, however, have been frequently frustrated,
partly because of the difficulty of ascertaining exactly who was the
legal owner at any particular time. A further difficulty was the
reluctance of some tenants to attend court.
One of the factors mainly accounting for the squalid appearance
of these houses was the condition of the entrance halls, the
communal staircases and kitchens. The artificial lighting of the
halls and staircases was adequate, but the decorations were old and
drab. These parts of the houses were seldom swept, with the result
that there was an accumulation of litter. Many of the communal
kitchens presented an even worse appearance, food refuse having been
left about, and little attempt seened to have been made to clean
stoves, sinks or floors. It was doubtful whether the bathrooms
were much used, probably owing to lack of hot water, and the condition
of many of the water closets indicated lack of normal cleansing.
The method of letting produced a great volume of refuse,
and the number of bins needed could not be housed in the small front
areas and cellars. As a result, some were kept in the flats and,
on collection day, all were brought down and stacked on the front
entrance steps. Some refuse was thrown out of rear windows into
the areas, where it choked the drains.