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27
few years the character of many areas of the Borough will have
changed completely.
Housing Surveys.
Much of your Inspector's time has been taken up with
surveys and reports on groups of properties or individual premises
where there have been allegations of undue pressure on
tenants, or where, leases having fallen in, cases of hardship
among displaced tenants have been investigated.
Improvement Grants.
The response to this scheme has been disappointing and
reveals that comparatively little use is being made of Improvement
Grants in the Borough.
Of the 29 applications received for "Standard Grants" 9
were in respect of owner occupied premises, and the remainder
for tenants. So far as "Discretionary Grants" are concerned
the figures were 11 and 8 respectively.
This response has been all the more disappointing in view
of the Department's activities in connection with the improvement
of houses in multiple occupation. It was anticipated
that this would result in a material increase in the number of
applications for Standard Grants, but so far our experience has
proved otherwise.
The causes for this would appear to be fourfold, viz:-
(1) in the case of tenement properties, the inability of landlords
to provide the five standard amenities required, i.e. a
fixed bath, wash hand basin, hot water supply to bath, basin
and sink, a W.C. and satisfactory facilities for food storage,
so that they are for the "exclusive" use of the individual
tenants or families;
(2) the unwillingness of tenants to forfeit part of their
living accommodation to enable the provision of baths, etc.;
(3) the restrictive nature of the rent limits imposed on the
landlord; and
(4) the inability or unwillingness of some tenants to pay the
statutory rent increase of 12½% of the cost of the improvements
which the landlord is allowed to charge.
The requirements of the new Housing Bill partially meet
these objections, but the prime factor is still to provide
additional housing at rentals which the lower and middle group