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62
HOUSING CONDITIONS.
With the exception of a relatively small number of blocks of self-contained flats, the
greater part of the working-class accommodation in the Borough consists of tenement houses,
and the drawbacks associated with this form of housing are well known. Most of these houses
are old, and, owing to age and the rough usage associated with numerous tenants, frequent
inspections and the service of many notices are required to keep them in anything like
suitable condition.
Overcrowding.
As a result of the attention of the Public Health Committee having been called to the
difficulty of accommodation being found for persons displaced through the operation of
Closing Orders, the Estates Committee were asked if they would assist in the matter. Their
reply stated that there is a very large number of persons who are waiting for accommodation
at the present time, and that, generally speaking, families displaced by a Closing Order are
unable to afford the rentals charged for the Council's flats, but that they are prepared to
consider sympathetically cases of exceptional hardship who are likely to prove suitable
tenants.
In connection with this subject, the Public Health Committee requested me to report
with respect to overcrowding amongst the poorer members of the community, who cannot
afford the present rents of municipally provided houses, and the following report was
presented:—
To the Chairman and Members of the Public Health Committee.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In accordance with the resolution of the Committee, I beg to submit the following report
concerning housing conditions, with reference to the poorer section of the community. It is
amongst this class that overcrowding is most prevalent and also most difficult to remedy, for it
appears to be an unfortunate fact that as we descend in the social scale the birth rate increases,
with the result that large families and low wages tend to be associated.
There are large numbers of unskilled labourers and other workers in the Borough, usually
with numerous children, who are earning wages of about fifty shillings per week. In order to
avoid overcrowding and to secure separation of the sexes in sleeping apartments, these families
require flats with at least three bedrooms. The rent of such flats in a central area is about 18s. 6d.
per week, an amount it is quite impossible to pay out of such an income.
The accommodation provided by the London County Council on the outskirts of London is
also not available for these families, as the Authority in question will only accept tenants who are
in a position to pay, not only the rent for the accommodation considered to be necessary, but also
the expense which must be incurred in travelling to and from work.
It is frequently stated that when the better paid workers move to more adequate accommodation
outside London, the rooms they vacate become available for these poorer families. This is
not always the case, because the rooms vacated become decontrolled as the Rent and Mortgage
Interest Restriction Acts cease to apply, and the rents are usually increased to a price beyond the
means of the persons concerned.
It is in consequence of these circumstances that overcrowding is prevalent, because
inadequate accommodation is less of a hardship than either cold or hunger, and therefore, when
money is very limited, food, warmth and clothing will always come before rent.
The following examples illustrate the type of family concerned, and the records of the department
contain numerous similar cases:—
B. Man, wife and six children, ages 11, 9, 6, 4, 3 and 1, in one room. Rent 6s. 9d. per week.
Labourer, maximum wages £3 2s. per week.
T. Man, wife and eight children, ages 14, 12, 10, 9, 7, 4, 3, and 1, in two rooms. Rent
7s. 6d. per week. Railway employee, wages £2 8s. per week.
L. Man, wife and six children, ages 10, 8,6, 5, 3 and 2, in one room (furnished). Rent 15s.
per week. Wages £3 per week.