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105
After the 1st January, 1938, it is the duty of an occupier to
prevent overcrowding in his house. The occupier may defend himself
from the charge of permitting overcrowding by proving any of the
following facts:—(i) that all persons sleeping there were living there
on 1st January, 1938, and since that date have lived there continuously,
or were children born since that date of any of those persons; (ii)
that the overcrowding is due solely to the fact that since January 1st,
1938, a child has attained the age of one year and is counted as half
a person or has attained the age of ten years and is counted as one
person, provided that the occupier has applied to the Borough Council
for alternative accommodation; (iii) that the overcrowding is due solely
to a member of the occupier's family sleeping temporarily but not
living in the house.
These defences are not conclusive, however, for although he may
be able to prove one or other of these facts, the occupier will still
have committed an offence if (a) he fails to accept an offer of suitable
alternative accommodation; or (b) the removal from the house of some
person, not being a member of the occupier's family, becomes reasonably
practicable and the occupier fails to require the removal of such
person.
Early in the year a temporary staff was appointed consisting of
four measurers, four assistant measurers and two clerks. Measurements
were made of 32,839 rooms, comprising 10,883 separate dwellings,
in 4,532 working class houses for the purpose of ascertaining
the permitted number for each working class dwelling, and for the
furnishing of this information to landlords, or occupiers upon request.
In connection with this work it was found that 811 rooms in 277
houses were unoccupied, but advantage was taken of the opportunity
to measure such rooms. In addition 137 houses were found to be
totally unoccupied.
The information secured by this Measurement Survey, together
with that obtained by the original Overcrowding Survey, forms the
basis of valuable overcrowding records and of the progress made in
its reduction. The Minister of Health has stressed the importance of