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licence was more likely to be obtained if it could be shown that
the works required to be done were in respect of a nuisance or
of some condition which was dangerous or injurious to health.
For this reason owners of property were only too willing to bring
defects to the notice of the local authority and not only
encouraged their tenants to do this but did so themselves.
It is not, however, easy to be sure of the cause of the
most recent drop in the number of notices served, but it is
probable that it is due in part to the better co-operation
between landlords and tenant. With a good tenant and a good
landlord repairs which are necessary are done without them being
brought to the notice of the local authority. There has further
been a considerable increase in the past few years of encouragement
in the press and elsewhere to "do-it-yourself" and this,
together with a number of legal decisions that landlords were
not responsible for internal decorations in ordinary circumstances,
has led to a great deal of work being done by tenants - including
minor repairs for which the tenant was probably not responsible.
A further point is that inspectors have been encouraged
to deal informally with owners, either by meeting at the property
or speaking over the telephone, and the effectiveness of this is
shown by the much larger number of houses put in repair by
"informal action of the local authority" than the total number
of intimation notices served. The advantage of this method of
approach is not merely the saving of clerical work but that it
is frequently possible by encouragement and persuasion to get
additional works of improvement done which would not be
enforceable under a notice.
Not all notices are, of course, in respect of repairs
to houses, and although as mentioned earlier the present records
do not lend themselves to detailed analysis, it is interesting
to note the reasons for the complaints received at the Public
Health Department. Just over one-third were complaints of lack
of repair, consisting of 13 per cent. of general dilapidations,
13 per cent. of dampness and 9 per cent. of defects in the roof
or gutters. Totals were as follows:-
Percentage
Lack of repair or dampness 35
Insects l6
Drainage or water supply 13
Smells 7
Food 5