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The sanitary accommodation which exists in these houses is usually as follows—
(1) The water supply for the house is obtained from a water tap placed in the yard at the
rear of the house, or in the washhouse, which is either situated in and approached from the yard
or is a room on the basement floor. There may be two taps, one in the yard and one in the washhouse,
or sometimes in the front area when the house possesses a basement. In some houses a
supply tap is found at the end of the passage of the ground tloor, and occasionally the supply
is carried up through the house and taps are provided on one or more of the upper floors. The
most frequent condition met with, however, is the first-mentioned, namely, one where water can
only be obtained at the basement or ground iioor level, so that the occupants of the upper floors must
come down whenever they require water, or are compelled to stote water in utensils in their own
rooms to meet the needs of the day.
In those instances where the supply is carried up to the upper floors there is provided
under the water tap on each floor a sink for waste water. Where the supply is limited
to the ground floor level no provision is made for the discharge of refuse water except at the
ground floor level. This may consist of the drain inlet in the yard only, but generally there is also
a sink in the washhouse. It thus follows that all waste water must be carried downstairs from
the upper floors.
(2) Water-closet accommodation is nearly always provided outside the house, namely, in
the yard at the rear, and frequently two water-closets exist in this situation, the second one
having obviously been provided to comply with the by-law requiring one water-closet to every
twelve inhabitants. In only a small number of houses was the proportion of persons to one
water-closet found to be in excess of that allowed by the by-law; generally speaking, the
requirement of the by-law is complied with. In some houses a water-closet is found inside the
house on the ground floor level and approached from the passage. It is exceptional to find accommodation
on the floors above.
(3) The washhouse accommodation found to exist in this class of house is usually situated
in one of two places. In some there is a back addition building or an outhouse in the yard
fitted up with a copper, water supply tap and sink. In other houses, if there be a basement floor,
the back basement room is fitted up in a similar manner, and is available for the use of all the
tenants in the house. In some houses no adequate accommodation exists.
The absence of water supply on the upper floors of tenement houses, where these consist of
premises having three and four storeys, as well as the absence of means for getting rid of fouled
water, must give rise to inconvenience, and must tend to the storage of water for domestic use, and
the retention of waste water in utensils in the living rooms for longer periods than is desirable.
There appears to be no power by which improvement in this respect can be effected. At the present
time the powers relating to the means of water supply of inhabited houses are contained in sections
2 and 48 of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891. These are as follows—
Section 2.—" Any such absence from premises of water fittings as is a nuisance by virtue
of section 33 of the Metropolis Water Act, 1871," shall be a nuisance liable to be
dealt with summarily under the Act.
Section 48 (1).—" An occupied house without a proper and sufficient supply of water shall
be a nuisance liable to be dealt with summarily under this Act, and if it is a dwelling house, shall
be deemed unfit for human habitation."
The requirements of both these sections are no doubt met by the provision of one water
tap with suitable fittings and so placed as to be available to all tenants living in the house.
As regards water-closet accommodation there is evidence that the by-law requiring one
water-closet to every twelve persons has been enforced, and it is only occasionally that noncompliance
with this requirement is met with. The additional accommodation is, however, usually
provided in the yard, this being the most readily available position, as to erect it at a higher
ievel would involve considerable structural alterations in the house. In some cases, where the
conditions allow it, the second water-closet has been placed on the roof of the back addition
building and is then approached off the staircase between the ground floor and first floor levels.
This is a more convenient position for tenants on the upper floors. The requirement of the bylaw,
however, relates only to the proportion of water-closet accommodation to number of residents,
and does not refer to position.
In connection with the washhouse accommodation which exists, it is not always obvious
that full use is made of it in all cases. This, in some cases, may be due to the fact that it is
inconveniently placed, or is dark, and not well suited for the purpose, as well as to the habits
of the residents, but in this connection it is to be remembered that the provision of public baths
and washhouses mav to some extent lessen the extent to which washhouses attached to houses
are used bv the resident.
The conditions existing in ordinary tenement houses, as regards water supply, means for
getting rid of foul water, and washhouse accommodation, do not compare favourably with the
sanitary accommodation which is provided in houses which have been built with the special
object of accommodating more than one family, or in recently erected blocks of dwellings for
persons of the working class. In the case of houses which have been sneciallv built with a view
to occupation bv more than one familv, the accommodation usually consists of living and sleeping
rooms, together with a small scullerv-washhouse, separate water supply tap and separate watercloset
all on one floor, and each floor of the house is a repetition of the other. Sometimes,
especially where the premises contain only two floors, each has a separate entrance door from
the street. Examples of this class of premises, and an account of the accommodation provided in
each, has been eiven in a previous report.
The Customs and Inland Revenue Act, 1890, as amended by the same Act of 1891, offers
inducement, by way of exemption or abatement from inhabited house duty, to owners to build,