View report page

121
(c) Internal Water Supply.—Only certain of the industrial dwellings
and those cottages containing single families have separate water supplies
for each letting. All cottages housing more than one family and most
of the tenement houses have common supplies. In the cottage properties
water supply is from a yard tap, while in the tenement houses, in addition
to a yard pipe or tap in basement scullery, there are water taps and angle
sinks on one or more landings. The number of separate lettings without
private water supplies may be estimated at 15,000.
(d) Separate W.C's. -Here also the only separate lettings with private
w.c's are some of the industrial dwellings and the old cottages occupied by
single families. The number without separate conveniences is higher than
that in the preceding paragraph as many tenements are provided with
sinks and water supply, but are without separate w.c's. There is no
instance, however, both as regards water supplies and w.c's, where the
statutes and by-laws requiring these provisions are not adequately
fulfilled.
(5) Unhealthy Areas.—A review of the housing conditions in the
various wards of the City, together with a study of the vital statistics
of the past twenty years, fails to reveal any area which could be characterised
as " unhealthy." The death-rate has declined steadily since 1910,
with occasional intermissions due to such causes as the influenza pandemic
of 1918-19. Infantile mortality has also declined from an average of
85 in 1910-15 to 60 in 1925-30 while the death rate from tuberculosis
has fallen from 1.43 in 1910 to .85 in 1930. These improvements in the
vital statistics are general throughout the City. It has been previously
noted that there are no slum areas or districts where housing generally
is of a peculiarly low or unhealthy character. There are, however,
houses or small groups of houses which fall far short of modern sanitary
standards. The types of defect have been mentioned in the preceding
paragraphs dealing with the sanitary districts. These defects are inherent
characteristics of old working-class houses in any town or city and can
only be dealt with as opportunities arise for clearance and improvement.
These opportunities, it is almost unnecessary to add, depend on other
housing accommodation being available for the tenants to be displaced.
(6) By-laws.—The by-laws in force in the City relating to dwellinghouses
are those made by the City Council under the Public Health Act
with regard to the paving of yards, cleansing of cisterns, water supply to
w.c's, and for the prevention of certain nuisances, and are adequate
for the purposes intended.
The by-laws made by the London County Council with respect to
houses divided into separate tenements have been elsewhere dealt with
in this report.