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(a) in so far as suitable accommodation available for the persons to be displaced by
the clearance of the area does not already exist they can provide, or secure the provision
of, such accommodation in advance of the displacements which will from time to time
become necessary as the demolition of buildings in the area proceeds; and
(b) the resources of the authority are sufficient for the purpose of carrying the
resolution into effect.
The Council's 1933-43 ten year programme was interrupted by the outbreak of war
and slum clearance work came to a standstill. In 1949 the Council decided that steps should
be taken to resume clearance operations on a modified scale, and accordingly resolved to
deal with six areas which had been declared to be clearance areas prior to 1939 but on
which work had been stopped by the outbreak of war. These areas contained some 1,500
houses. Concurrently with this action steps were taken to consult with the metropolitan
borough councils with a view to the general resumption of clearance activities in 1950.
A five-year programme was drawn up covering some 10,000 unfit houses. On the expiry
of that programme a further time-table for dealing with 7,000 houses in the period 1956-60
was compiled and at the time of writing all the areas contained in those two programmes
for which the Council has accepted responsibility have been reported upon.
Fitness for habitation—Until the Housing Repairs and Rents Act, 1954, became law
fitness for human habitation was determined, according to the terms of statute, on the
amount of disrepair and sanitary defects which existed. ' Sanitary defects ' were defined as
' including lack of air space or of ventilation, darkness, dampness, absence of adequate and
readily accessible water supply or sanitary accommodation or of other conveniences and
inadequate paving or drainage of courts, yards or passagesThis, of course, was not a
positive standard and opinions varied from district to district as to what was meant by
' unfit for habitation '. In a ' Manual on Unfit Houses' published by the Ministry of
Health in 1919 a standard for a fit house was, in fact, prescribed but since no steps were
taken to incorporate it in any legislation it remained only of academic interest.
In 1946 a sub-committee of the Central Housing Advisory Committee (the Mitchell
Committee) after deliberation on this subject, reported that a more positive standard by
which to judge fitness for habitation was desirable, and recommended that the old 1919
standard should be made mandatory. The Housing Repairs and Rents Act of 1954 repealed
the ' disrepair and sanitary defects ' rule and in its place provided an alternative method for
determining when a house is unfit for habitation.
A house is to be considered unfit for habitation if, and only if, it is so far defective in one
or more of certain matters that it is not reasonably suitable for occupation in that condition.
The matters to which regard shall be had are repair, stability, freedom from damp,
natural lighting, ventilation, water supply, drainage and sanitary conveniences, facilities
for the preparation, storage and cooking of food and for the disposal of waste water.
This list is exclusive and no other circumstances may be considered. It will be noted that
this is not a positive standard and the test remains a qualitative one; in practice, so far as
houses included in clearance areas are concerned, it may be said that there is little or no
difference between the old rule and the 1954 directions. This is to be expected as houses
included in a clearance area have reached the end of their useful lives and on any standard
would be deemed to be unfit for human habitation.
Over the years there has been little change in London in the type of houses included in
clearance areas. Two storey cottages, two storey mews type dwellings over garages, three
storey and four storey houses in multiple occupation and block tenement dwellings
continue to figure in reports to the Council. Examples are shown in the inset.
These houses have numerous defects. Dampness rising from the ground through absence
of proper damp proof courses is perhaps the most common and is also the most difficult
and expensive to remedy. Instability is not common, except in some areas of the county
where houses with inadequate foundations have been built on made-up ground. Almost
every 'clearance area' house contains one or more inadequately lighted and ventilated
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