View report page

These Homes, which include 2 Boarding Schools accommodating
children under 9 years of age, were distributed as follows
Coulsdon 7
Old Coulsdon 1
Kenley 4
Purley 6
Selsdon 4
Purley Oaks 1
23
HOUSING.
If this Report is compared with its predecessors it will be noted that,
while the number of houses inspected during the year is not quite so
high as last year, it is far in excess of that for 1935. In the latter year
331 inspections were made, compared with 924 in 1936 and 824 in 1937.
The chief reasons for these increases were the additional visits
required, originally to detect any overcrowding which existed, as
required by the Housing Act, 1935, and latterly to ascertain the
maximum numbers of persons which could reside in the houses suitable
for accommodating members of the working classes in the District, in
order that the ascertained figures could be inserted in the rent books,
as required by the Housing Act, 1936, sec. 62.
This information has now been supplied as affecting approximately
one-half of such houses, and as a good proportion of the remainder are
owner occupied houses in which there is little desire to ascertain the
maximum figures, less time will be required in future in dealing with
this aspect of the work. There is, however, a reluctance on the part
of a number of owners to insert the maximum number on account of the
permitted standard being lower than that generally accepted and
desirable in a District such as this. It is feared that tenants will thereby
be encouraged to increase the number of occupants to that permitted
by the Act.
In view of the fact that the majority of the houses in the District
are good class dwellings in very good condition, about 60 per cent.
having been built in the last 16 years, the task of relieving overcrowding
has been a light one locally, while no slums or undue congestion of property
exist with which to deal.
In the original survey for overcrowding 21 cases were detected, and
by the end of 1936 only 6 of these, or others found subsequently, remained
for attention. During 1937, an additional 4 cases were discovered and
5 relieved, hence there were still 5 remaining cases in 4 premises at the
end of the year requiring attention, none of which related to property
owned by the Council. Two of these cases were the remnants of the
original cases, but one of them is a case which, after relief, became again
43