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London County Council
TENEMENT HOUSES.
Further report by Medical Officer on the accommodation provided in houses
used as tenement houses. (In continuation of report presented on the 24th
March, 1904 (No. 8117).)
(Ordered by the Public Health Committee to be printed, 4th October, 1906.)
In the latter part of 1903 I presented to the Committee a report by Dr. Young, giving the
result of his inspection of a number of streets of tenement houses in London. The general outcome
of the inquiry, as the Committee remembers, was to show that the occupant of a tenement in a house
not originally designed for use by members of more than one family is placed at a serious disadvantage
in regard to such matters as water-closet accommodation, water supply, and ths provision made
for the washing, cooking and storage of food. All these questions need to be considered in the light
of the existing use of such houses by a number of families, but, unfortunately, the provision actually
made is almost without exception merely designed for the requirements of a single household.
As regards water-closet accommodation, the Council's by-law which requires in tenement
houses one water-closet for every twelve persons has been, generally speaking, enforced throughout
London, and considerable improvement has thus been brought about—though, as Dr. Young noted three
years ago, the requirement of the by-law relates only to the proportion the water-closet accommodation
provided bears to the number of residents, and does not apply to position.
Turning now to the question of water supply, the case for legislation with a view to eflecting
substantial improvement in the conditions at present existing is particularly strong. Dr. Young
found, as a rule, that in the majority of the houses the only tap from which water was drawn was
situated either in the back yard or in the wash-house on the ground or basement floor, though in
some instances a tap was provided on a higher level, usually placed on the staircase landing over a
sink, which could be made to serve as a scullery sink. The conditions existing in 1903 remain
practically unchanged.
The question has indeed arisen whether the provisions of sections 2 and 48 of the Public
Health (London) Act, 1891, do not enable Sanitary Authorities to require a supply of water to the
tenants of each floor in tenement houses. In the first instance, the Council decided (on 14th June,
1904) to promote legislation to remove the possibility of doubt on this subject, but the resolution to
do this was subsequently rescinded (6th December, 1904), as the Parliamentary Committee reported
that it was by no means clear that the present law was insufficient to meet the case.
In December, 1904, the Woolwich Borough Council directed proceedings to be taken in
respect to the water supply in a tenement house situated in High-street, Woolwich, and, in
the result, the magistrate made an order to abate the nuisance at this house, and ordered the
defendant to pay 5 guineas costs. The facts in this case, briefly summarised, arc as follows:—
The house is a three-storey house ; a single man occupied the ground floor rooms ; a woman and a
child occupied the first lloor front room; the first floor back was separately let; in the top floor front
room there was a man, his wife and two children (one of the children, however, was not always at home),
and in the top floor back there was a single man. The only appliance for supplying water for domestic use
to the occupiers of these five sets of tenements was that situated in the back yard of the house. All water
for cooking, drinking, personal ablution, washing clothes, and scrubbing floors had to be fetched from the
yard ; there was no wash-house, and the copper in the yard was in a dilapidated condition.
The tenants of the top floor stored water in a pail, which was kept on the landing at the top of the staircase
; this staircase was very dark and the pail was uncovered—the water stored in this manner being liable
to become polluted. The conditions as regards cleanliness of the rooms and staircase were unsatisfactory.
This was not surprising, having in view the need of carrying water from the yard all the way upstairs.
A recent inspection made of these premises shows that there are now two water taps and sinks
above the ground floor level in this house, and it appears from the annual report of the Medical
Officer of Health of Woolwich that the precedent established in this instance has led to similar
improvement being effected in the case of a few other houses in the borough.
The London County Council called the attention of all the Borough Councils to the decision
of the magistrate in this case, to the effect that the supply of water from the tap in a yard was not
a " proper and sufficient supply " within the meaning of section 48 of the Public Health (London)
Act, 1891, and the hope was expressed by the Council that the Borough Couucils would take all
possible steps to secure the provision of a " proper and sufficient supply " of water for the tenants of
every floor of tenement houses.
The Council's letter led to careful consideration being given to the question of the supply of
water in tenement houses by several Borough Councils, and in particular, it may be noted, that the
Paddinglon Borough Council resolved that their Public Health Committee be authorised to secure
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