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63
The Housing Act, in addition to setting up a standard for measuring
overcrowding, places certain obligations upon landlords, who are defined
aa being the immediate landlords of the tenants. (Thus, any person
letting rooms is the landlord of the persons to whom the rooms are let.)
The duties of a landlord are as follows :—
(1) He must fix in his tenant's rent book, a summary of the
overcrowding provisions of the Housing Act, set out in the following
form, and also the permitted number of persons for the rooms
occupied by his tenant.
Summary of Sections 58, 59 and 61 of the Housing Act, 1936,
to be inserted in a Rent Book or similar document.
1. After the First day of January, 1938, an occupier who
causes or permits his dwelling to be overcrowded is liable to
prosecution for an offence under the Housing Act, 1936, and,
if convicted, to a fine not exceeding five pounds. Any part
of a house which is occupied by a separate family is a dwelling."
2. A dwelling is overcrowded if the number of persons
sleeping in it is more than the " permitted number," or is such
that two or more of those persons, being ten years old or over,
of opposite sexes (not being persons living together as husband
and wife), must sleep in the same room.
3. The " permitted number " for the dwelling to which
this [Rent Book] [ ] relates is
persons. In counting the number of persons each child under
ten years of age counts as half a person, and a child of less1 than
one year is not counted at all.
4. The Act contains special provisions relating to overcrowding
already existing on the above-mentioned date or which
is due to a child attaining the age of either one or ten years
after that date or which is due to exceptional circumstances.
Full information about these special provisions and all
provisions as to overcrowding can be obtained free on application
to the Local Authority whose address is
(see last paragraph).
(Copies of this summary in the prescribed form, with
gummed edge for fixing in rent books, may be obtained from
most stationers and stores.)