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From these figures it will be seen that, so far as census
returns may be taken as a guide, "overcrowding" in
Finchley was not materially worse in 1921 than it was before
the war. The number of private families had increased by
31 per cent. since j 911, whereas the number of dwellings
had increased by only 24.2 per cent., but the average number
of persons per private family had fallen from 4.33 to 3.93.
Though 25 per cent. of families occupied 1-3 rooms,
structurally separate dwellings of 1-3 rooms formed only
4.5 per cent. of the total structurally separate dwellings in
the district, and though structurally separate dwellings of
6 rooms and over formed 67 per cent. of the total dwellings,
only 44.3 per cent. of families occupied 6 or more rooms.
It is therefore evident that a large number of houses which
were originally intended for occupation by one family have
been sub-let to other families.
Such a state of affairs is due not only to the shortage
of houses, but also to the fact that many persons find themselves
unable to pay the increased rents now demanded and
resort to sub-letting as the only way out of the difficulty, and
these families, though not necessarily "overcrowded" in
the strict sense of the word, have none of the privacy and
few of the conveniences that are conducive to a happy and
contented home life.
The general standard of housing in Finchley compares
favourably with both the pre-war and post-war standards
in England and Wales and in the County of Middlesex. The
only urban districts in Middlesex which show a higher
number of rooms per person than Finchley are Southgate,
Harrow-on-the-Hill, Wembley and Ruislip and Northwood.
Valuable information with regard to housing conditions
is obtained by the Public Health Department as a result of
house-to-house inspection. Mr. Franklin has very kindly
made an analysis of the data in relation to 646 typical working
class houses in the poorer Quarters of the district.
These houses were inspected prior to the war, and have
been re-inspected during the past few years.
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