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37
(i) Poor standard of work found in many cases which
necessitates a larger number of re-inspections and causes
delay in the resultant alterations necessary to amend the
work.
(j) Genuine cases of hardships, particularly in the case of
some old owner/occupiers or old principal tenants who
have sub-let and become liable to carry out certain works
as they are responsible for the multiple occupation.
Representations were made to the Ministry of Housing and Local
Government by this Council and other local authorities and, as a result, a new
Housing Act was passed by Parliament in 1964 to remove some of the
difficulties experienced in administering the 1961 Act. The additional
powers given to local authorities by the Housing Act, 1964, dealt with, inter
alia,
(a) Improved methods of recovering costs of carrying out work
in default under Part II of the Housing Act, 1961. The
expenses of works carried out by the local authority in
default are made a charge on the property, and on estates
and interests in the premises, and the authority is given
all the powers of a mortgagee, including the power of sale
to cover their costs.
(b) Penalties against landlords for failure to execute works
under Part II of the Housing Act, 1961.
(c) Means of operating (i) the power to require works and
(ii) the power to give a direction for the reduction of
overcrowding (Sections 15 and 19 respectively of the
Housing Act, 1961) in combination instead of alternatively.
(d) The obtaining of a Justice's warrant to enter premises for
the purposes of Part II of the Housing Act, 1961.
In addition, local authorities are vested with a new power to
enable them to make control orders in respect of multi-occupied houses in
which the living conditions are so bad as to justify urgent action in the
interest of people living in the house.
A control order enables a local authority to take possession,
against all landlords and proprietors, of premises and undertake all
management duties subject to compensation to the dispossessed landlord.
A control order remains in force for five years, unless it is
revoked by the County Court or by a higher tribunal or by the local
authority.
The local authority are required to take such immediate steps as
are necessary for the protection of the resident's safety, welfare or
health and subsequently to improve and manage the house as well, in all
respects, as they would have required a manager or person in control to do
under the provisions of Part II of the Housing Act, 1961.
Inspections were commenced in the Golborne Ward, in an area
bounded by Acklam Road, Portobello Road, Wornington Road and St. Ervan's
Road, and by the end of the year 651 houses had been initially inspected
to record defects.
The following table summarises the action taken during 1964 and
the total results since the work commenced in 1963:—
The following table summarises the action taken during 196k and
the total results since the work commenced in 1963:–