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9
ing the year. In view of the proposed legislation, his period has
been extended from the six months originally intended.
During the year 17 houses have been closed under Section
19 of the Housing Act, of 1930, and the Council have built 28
new ones (flats) which are all occupied.
There are no areas in the borough consisting of squalid dwellings
nor are there any courts or alleys with houses built around them.
All houses with one or two exceptions abut on to 40-ft. roads and
have ample air space in the rear. The majority of the houses are
of two storeys built either in pairs or terrraces and none can be considered
ancient. What houses there were of great age have all been
demolished except one, and this has now been represented as unfit.
In arriving at a conclusion as to the fitness for human habitation
or otherwise of any premises represented to them, the Council
is guided by the general housing standard in the borough and by
how far the premises fall short of the requirements of the existing
byelaws.
1,348 houses have been inspected and recorded under the
Housing Consolidated Regulations of 1925. Such inspections
entail a great amount of detailed work and occupy much time.
From time to time cases of overcrowding are discovered.
These can usually be remedied by an elder member of the family
keeping out or by altering the general sleeping arrangements. On
occasion, however, the difficulty cannot be so easily overcome, as
in the case of a man and wife with a large young family. Very often
the husband cannot afford the rent of the necessary number of rooms
to house the family decently, nor could he afford to do so, is it simple
to find accommodation as private landlords will not let their
premises to persons having several children. The natural solution
in these cases is to rehouse the families on the Council's housing
estate. This unfortunately always means waiting a considerable
time owing to the inadequacy of the estate, and during this time
the overcrowding remains unabated.
There are quite a number of basement houses in the central
2nd northern part of the borough which were formerly occupied by
one family. The majority of these houses are now let off in separate
floors, including the basements. The rooms .habitually used
as sleeping rooms only in a basement can be closed if they cannot
made to comply with the Council's regulations relating to such
rooms, but it would be well if the regulations applied equally to
rooms used as living rooms or workshops.