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36
SECTION C
Sanitary circumstances of the Area
The tables on pages 72 to 74 summarise, as far as possible,
the sanitary work of the Department; from these it will be seen
that a total of 20,320 houses and premises have been inspected or
re-inspected during the year; 1,185 intimation notices and 210
statutory notices were served.
Registered complaints, numbering 1,232, show a fall of 323
from those of the previous year, but this total is still greatly in
excess of the pre-war average of 700.
Routine complaints arise mainly in connection with the
deterioration of the older type properties, but under present conditions,
application of Sec. 9 of the Housing Act, 1936 can no longer
provide a satisfactory method of improving sub-standard houses as
the rising costs of labour and materials preclude repairs from being
effected at reasonable cost. In this respect, therefore, legal action
is gradually being limited to the application of the Nuisance Sections
of the Public Health Act.
Despite diligent use of these sections and the introduction of
the London County Council (General Powers) Act, 1951, which
under Sec. 8 enables a Council to recover expenses incurred in
repairing houses in the event of the owner's default, it is clear that
these expediencies will seldom provide complete or adequate repair.
Indeed, it is quite probable that without further legislation the
position will deteriorate, for while the rate of provision of new
dwellings is barely equivalent to the rate of houses falh'ng into
disrepair, so long will it be necessary for the District Inspector to
continue to 6pend a large proportion of his time in covering routine
complaints and in re-visits instead of utilising his efforts in
preventive functions which would follow from house-to-house
inspection.
Several Local Authorities have made representations to the
Ministry of Housing and Local Government emphasising the serious