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4 REPORT OF THE MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH FOR 1962
larly to be found in large towns and it is likely that in London it is
proportionately as large as, if not larger than, elsewhere. In contrast
with many of the Midland and Northern cities London has now no
large acreage of back-to-back houses which are unfit for human
habitation but there are many Victorian houses which have become
sub-standard (although not statutorily unfit), most of which are in
multiple occupation. The extent of the problem in Wandsworth,
although it was thought to be considerable, was not accurately known
and it was felt that the first most important task was to ascertain, as
far as one could, what exactly is the extent of the problem. The
improvement in the staffing situation in terms of public health inspectors
enabled us to utilize the services of three inspectors on a
comprehensive survey and in due course two reports on the subject
were made to the Public Health Committee.
In all, over 400 houses comprising different types of property
known to be in multiple occupation were carefully inspected and
certain facts and data were collected. The main points of interest are
shown in tables in the body of the Report. The full details of this
survey need not be repeated here since they have already been
reported to the Public Health Committee but for the purposes of
record, some of the more salient features observed may be mentioned.
For instance, it was estimated that according to the figures
collected there were about 1,200 families living in some 4,000 properties
who were overcrowded according to the standards laid down
by the Housing Act, 1957. But this was not the whole of the story. It
is a principle of the legislation enacted in the Housing Act, 1961,
that within limits a landlord may choose to reduce the number of
tenants in a property rather than to carry out the work considered
necessary to comply with the standards adopted by the Council. If
landlords choose to reduce the numbers rather than carry out works,
this would increase the number of families for which rehousing
might be necessary. The number of families so affected could only be
estimated but if the standards were to be applied rigorously, it could
clearly be substantial and knowing the pressure on housing accommodation,
it was apparent that the rehousing of at least 1,200 families
could not be seriously considered on a short term basis. Moreover,
this took no account of the pressure on housing accommodation on
medical and other grounds. This survey confirmed our opinion that a
considerable problem exists, and that it is mainly concentrated in
one and two room lettings which, for the main part but not exclusively
so, are to be found in three or four storey types of property.
On the other hand, "squalor" although not defined exactly in the
Regulations and open to some differences of interpretation was not
found to any great extent in proportion to the number of properties
we were dealing with. It should also be said that an agreeably high
proportion of houses in multiple occupation were very well maintained
and, in many cases, very little was found to criticise.
Nevertheless, the investigation demonstrated that the