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4. Overcrowding.—The number of houses that are overcrowded,
judged by pre-war standards, is estimated at 152. The causes of
this overcrowding are the natural increase of the population, and,
to some extent, immigration. The provision of new houses has
not kept pace with the needs of the District. (See also p. 10, Rooms
per dwelling.) There are many Districts where the degree of overcrowding
is very much worse than in Beckenham, but the standard
of housing here has always been a high one.
The measures taken to meet this overcrowding have been indicated
above, viz., the houses erected by the Council and by private
enterprise.
It is doubtful if the houses erected by the Council relieved to
any extent the class amongst whom overcrowding was most prevalent.
There is an impression that in selecting tenants for their new
houses the Council were influenced as much by the capacity of the
applicant to pay the rent and prove a good tenant as by his need
for more and better accommodation. Further, the rents of the
Council houses were prohibitive to some of the small wage earners.
This remark applies even 'more to the houses erected by private
enterprise, which were designed for "sale" and not "to let,"
moreover, they cater for a class better off financially than the
ordinary working class family.
From these remarks it will be gathered that there is a need in
the District for houses which can be let at lower rentals than those
prevailing at present if the overcrowding amongst the poorest section
of the population is to be relieved.
Principal Cases of Overcrowding and Action Taken.—The
degree of overcrowding varies, one of the worst cases was the
following: —
A small house in the occupation of two families. One familyconsisting
of the father and mother and six children, ranging
from 11 years to 1 year, occupied one small kitchen, and all
slept in the one bedroom.