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Staff - Inspectorate
The establishment of inspectors consists of chief public health inspector,
principals public health inspector, nine senior inspectors, 16
district inspectors, 8 student inspectors and 4 technical assistants. For
the greater part of the year the establishment was up to the required
strength.
New Legislation
Housing Act, 1969
This Act came into force on 25th August, 1969. It introduces a greater
flexibility to housing legislation and widens the scope of grant aid. The
general purpose of the Act is to save existing property from further deterioration
and to improve the standard of housing on a broad basis. The
Ministry regard the scale and type of work done to improve or repair the
existing stock of houses in a local authority's area, as an integral part
of the Authority's housing programmer There is emphasis on General Improvement
Areas and the proposals are drawn in wide terms, the intention being
to improve living conditions in the area chosen; and it is visualised that
these could be comparatively small areas where emphasis would be on the
provision of amenities within the homes, together with the general upgrading
of the district as opposed to the broader concept of Action Areas
under the Town and Country Planning Acts.
The Act introduces a new system governing the rents of privatelyrented
dwellings which are of a qualifying standard so far as provisions of
amenitites and general state of repair are concerned, or which are brought
to such a standard with or withour Grant Aid. Controlled tenancies can be
converted to regulated tenancies where the qualifying standard is achieved.
The rent officer fixes a fair rent for the dwelling after it becomes a
regulated tenancy, this rent being determined under the Rent Act 1968 and
subject to phasing under the Housing Act, 1969
There are 3 classes of grants to property owners:
1. Improvement grants towards the cost of works required for either
the provision of dwellings (e.g. the conversion into flats of a
house or other buildings); or for the improvement of existing
dwellings other than by the mere provision of standard amenities
which are lacking.
2. Standard grants towards the cost of works required for the improvement
of an existing dwelling by the provision of those
standard amenities which it lacks.
3. Special grants towards the cost of works required for the improvement
of houses in multiple occupation by the provision of
standard amenities.
A new feature is the payment of grants towards repairs and replacements
in conjunction with improvements.
The Public Health (Recurring Nuisance) Act 1969
This Act provides a useful addition to the powers of existing legislation
in that it enables the authority to take action in cases where a
nuisance is likely to recur even if the nuisance does not exist at the
time of serving the notice. It has already proved helpful in dealing with
cases which previously presented difficulty.
B.l