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54
Facilities for rehousing.
The London County Council have arranged to provide facilities for rehousing accommodation
upon their estates for families displaced by Metropolitan Borough Councils under
the provisions of the Housing Act. 1930. This arrangement provides that Borough Councils
who wish to avail themselves of the facility shall pay £1 17s. 6d, per flat per annum for 40
years for each displaced family so accommodated. In the event of the family who are
rehoused vacating the accommodation, the Borough Council would still be liable to continue
payments for the remainder of the 40 years, but would have the right to nominate another
tenant from the Borough, provided this was done within seven days of receipt of notification
of vacancy from the County Council.
UNDERGROUND ROOMS.
The following are the particulars of action taken during the year in respect of
underground rooms:—
No. of Closing Orders on separate rooms or tenements for human
habitation 170
No. of rooms the use of which has been discontinued for human habitation 143
No. of families accommodated elsewhere as a result of these notices by:—
London County Council 3
St. Pancras Borough Council 29
No. of rooms vacated by own efforts or not used for human habitation by
re-arrangement 68
HOUSING INSPECTOR.
The following report upon the work he has carried out during the year is submitted
by Mr. Walker, who was transferred from the post of District Sanitary Inspector to that of
Housing Inspector in April, 1935:—
"I have to report that the working of Section 17 of the Housing Act, 1930, has
again gone quite smoothly. From the attached summary of the work accomplished
during 1936, it will be seen that I was able to inspect 303 houses as against 160 during
the last eight months of the previous yenr.
This increase is largely the outcome of the simplified system commenced last year.
The number of houses reconditioned by voluntary specifications after a joint
inspection by the owners' surveyors and myself is double last year's total at 69. All
these specifications have received the approval of the Public Health Committee.
No inspections were made during 1936 for Clearance Areas, but the Ministry's
Enquiry and consequent re-inspections of the Clearance Areas—Efskine Mews, Roberts
Mews, Everton Buildings and Crown Place—occupied a considerable time.
Some trouble has again been experienced in respect of the quality of work, but the
majority of owners have carried out the work in a satisfactory manner. It is to be
hoped that in any new Housing Act some attempt will be made to fix a standard in
respect of work carried out upon working class dwellings.
It has not been possible to devote as much time as I should have wished to the
re-inspection of work in progress during the year, owing to the large number of houses
awaiting inspection on my book. I have come to the conclusion that more time should
be devoted to this most important part of the reconditioning."