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1931] 64
both the occupier and the person letting were warned by letter that when these
rooms which had been illegally occupied were vacated, should they be re-let, the
facts would be brought before the appropriate Committee with a view to legal
proceedings being taken.
ESTIMATED NUMBER OF BASEMENT ROOMS.
In 1924 the Medical Officer of Health of the London County Council asked
from each Metropolitan Borough an estimate of the number of basement rooms.
The method of estimating was as follows:—Such a return as could be made by
the Sanitary Inspector walking along a street enumerating the occupied basement
and making a record of the details asked. It was not to matter whether the rooms
were occupied for sleeping purposes or not, and no special note was taken of basement
rooms at the rear of the premises. The returns thus estimated, received from
the Metropolitan Boroughs, constituted apparently the basis of the figures of the
London County Council of the number of basements in London which were recently
published.
It was estimated by us that in Islington there were 1,460 basement dwellings
with ceilings at or below the street level. In the survey referred to the character
of the rooms was indicated under the following headings:—
(a) Number of basements used for dwelling purposes.
(b) Number of basement dwellings with ceilings at or below street level.
(c) Number of basement dwellings in which the width of area in street
does not exceed 3 feet.
(d) Number of basement dwellings in which the width of area in street
exceeds 3 feet, but does not exceed 4 feet.