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limited presumably by the amount of cubic space available. The effect of this
would be to exclude from registration a large number of rooms in South St.
Pancras, where the rental of single rooms is from 4s to 6s., of two rooms 6s. 6d.
to 8s. 6d., of three rooms 9s. 6d. to 11s., and these are the rentals quoted from
the Report of the Board of Trade upon Working Class Rents, which has just
been published, but there are a number of instances, especially in such streetsas
Whitfield Street, Tottenham Street, and Windmill Street, where rentals of
single rooms range from 6s. to 7s., and of two rooms from 10s. to 14s., and toadopt
such rentals as a limitation of exemption would if applied to North St.
Pancras include a class of houses the owners and occupiers of which would so
resent registration that the By-laws would by popular opinion be reduced to
little effect.
It is unfortunate that Lulot, Retcar, and Raydon Streets should have been,
chosen to demonstrate the effect of the proposed exemption, because the houses
in these streets are practically all constructed in three rooms on a floor, and
are therefore exceptional, and the streets are unlike those in other parts of the
Borough. There is little likelihood of overcrowding in dwellings containing
three rooms and a good sized scullery in addition, and if any of these floors
are subdivided in letting the houses so subdivided become registerable. There
is another reason why this choice of streets is an unfortunate illustration
Highgate New Town is a jerry built town requiring constant attention and
repair to keep it in reasonable sanitary condition, apart from overcrowding and
cleansing. Recently Lulot Street has been inspected and the result of the
inspection has necessitated the service of 25 Notices for the abatement of
nuisances, 11 notices of remedying breaches of Statute and By-laws other
than those for houses let in lodgings, and 16 Notices for non-compliance with
the By-laws for houses let in lodgings; all sixteen referring to cleansing and
none to overcrowding. It is true that cleansing and the abatement of overcrowding
can be more easily enforced (because they are defined), under the
By-laws for houses let in lodgings, than under the nuisance sections of the
Public Health (London) Act, 1891, where they are undefined. But as there
are usually a number of other matters to be remedied in the houses of this
Town under the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, cleansing can be
included amongst them. For the purpose of securing periodical inspection
every six months, the entering of the houses in these streets in an Inscribed
List for such periodical inspection will generally effect the purpose.
The questions to be decided are—
(1) Whether the Council will adhere to the exemption from registration—Where
the number of separate dwellings in which the
house is sub-let does not exceed one-third of the total number of
habitable rooms in the house and no such dwelling contains less
than two habitable rooms.
(2) Whether the Council will limit the exemption by altering the
words "one-third" to one-fourth, and the word "two" to three, and
(3) Whether the Council will adopt a middle course by altering the
words "one-third" to one-fourth, leaving the word "two"
unaltered.