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92
The total now found to be still occupied illegally is 59, including 34
separately occupied as dwellings and 25 illegal sleeping places.
Three owners who were communicated with gave written undertakings
under section 19 of the Housing Act, 1930, not to relet rooms in the
basements as bedrooms which do not comply with the requirements of
the Act in regard to underground sleeping places.
Summonses were taken out against the owner and the occupier of
an underground dwelling occupied contrary to the provisions of section 96
of the Public Health (London) Act. These underground rooms were
definitely illegal and every consideration was given the occupier.
An appointment was made to discuss transferring the occupants to
one of the City Council's dwellings, but the appointment was not kept,
and as it appeared that they were quite able to pay rent for suitable
accommodation the Council instructed proceedings to be taken. The
Magistrate fined both the owner and the occupier. The rooms soon
afterwards ceased to be occupied as a dwelling and are now used for other
purposes.
Overcrowding.—During the year 12 new cases of illegal overcrowding
were discovered and 29 cases which were overcrowded in the social sense.
In a number of instances the families concerned were found to have come
from other districts and had been resident in Westminster for a comparatively
short period. Some of them had come from the provinces
either because the bread-winners had found work in London, or because
the prospect of obtaining such appeared to be less remote than in their own
districts. The published figures of unemployment show that this problem
is much less acute in the South of England than in the industrial areas
and this fact is no doubt an inducement to some families to migrate
from their home towns.
In each of two cases of illegal overcrowding, a family of ten persons
was found to be occupying two rooms in a basement, from which the
City Council had rehoused the former occupants on the ground of overcrowding.
In both instances the owner had received a warning letter
from the Council, but no blame could apparently be attached to the
owner in either case, because the prospective tenants had obtained the
rooms by misrepresenting the facts regarding the number of persons in
the family. Notice to abate the overcrowding was served upon the
occupier in each case. During the year 40 cases of illegal overcrowding
and 68 cases of " social " overcrowding were relieved, principally by the
housing schemes of the City Council.