View report page

91
During the year three additional tenement houses were placed
upon the Register. At the end of the year the total number of tenement
houses on the Register was 1,578.
In May, 1930, the Council appointed two Temporary Sanitary
Inspectors and a clerk for the purpose of registering and inspecting
tenement houses in the Borough. All these three officers have now
obtained permanent posts with other Councils, one Inspector leaving
this Council's service in June, 1931, and the other Inspector in May,
1932, whilst the clerk resigned in October, 1931.
These positions were not filled and the work of inspecting tenement
houses and the clerical work therewith have been transferred to
the existing inspectorial and clerical staff.
It is probable that in Hampstead more useful work can be done
by the rigid enforcement of the Tenement House Bye-laws of the
London County Council than by any other means. Unfortunately
this is impossible at the present time owing to the large amount of
voluntary work undertaken by owners of property, which has to be
supervised by the Sanitary Inspectors. This work includes improvements
in good class property, the erection of garages, etc., and in
order that the requirements of the Drainage Bye-laws are observed, it
is essential for the Inspectors to devote a considerable amount of their
time to the supervision of this work.
I regard the supervision of registered tenement houses as a matter
of paramount importance. For the reasons I have stated, it has not
been possible in the past for the Inspectors to give sufficient time to
the supervision of tenement houses.
Overcrowding.
In the Annual Report for 1930, my predecessor reported that as a
result of the inspection and registration of tenement houses then being
carried out by the temporary sanitary inspectors a large number of
cases of illegal overcrowding and improper mixing of sexes had been
reported.
On re-inspecting these tenement houses, further cases have been
reported, and every effort has been made to abate the overcrowded
conditions originally pertaining, but owing to the serious shortage in