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43
effect clearly. In the Council houses with accommodation for 4
units (living room, scullery and two bedrooms) we find as follows:—
Occupied by 1 person each 4
,, „ 2 persons each 8
„ „ 2 ½ persons each 4
In the 6-unit room lettings (generally living room, scullery
and three bedrooms) the figures are:—
Occupied by 2 units each 1
„ „ 21 units each 3
„ „ 3 units each 10
In the 8-unit room lettings (generally parlour, living room,
scullery and three bedrooms) the figures are:—
Occupied by 2 units each 6
„ „ 3 units each 14
„ „ 31 units each 5
In the 9i unit room lettings :
Occupied by 3 units each 2
„ „ 4 units each 4
The most common explanation of this state of affairs is that
the houses in question have been in the same tenancy for a considerable
number of years. When the houses were first let they were
fully occupied, but in the course of time, normal incidents like
removals, marriage and death, have reduced the number of occupants,
and a change of tenancy might result in a hardship. I understand
that the existence of these under-occupied houses in now
being considered by the housing committees. The average number
of units per family in Council houses is 4.7 compared with 3.19
in the 16,943 lettings surveyed, and the average permitted number
in Council houses was 6.9 units compared with 6.16 in the rest of
the district.
The following table gives the average number of units occupied
by the various sizes of families in Council houses ; this table
may be compared with the table on a previous page which gives
this information for the whole district, and the same remarks
apply. A family would be just not overcrowded if the number
of units in the size of the family were the same as the number
of units of accommodation, and consequently excess of the numbers
in column 2 over those in column 1 indicates the extent to which
the average family enjoys accommodation in excess of that required