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ditions merited urgent rehousing but the award of "additional points" did not give
immediate help the matter was submitted to the Housing Committee for special
consideration.
Each and every housing application supported on public health grounds received
the fullest consideration by the Housing Committee and 51 of these cases were
rehoused.
Overcrowding
Sixteen new cases of statutory overcrowding as prescribed by the standard laid
down in the Housing Act, 1957, involving 41 adults and 43 children, were brought
to the attention of the department. Twenty-five cases were removed from the register,
either having themselves obtained alternative accommodation or been rehoused by the
Council. The Council allocate additional points to a housing applicant where
statutory overcrowding exists.
Houses in Multiple Occupation
The local authority is empowered by the Housing Act, 1961, to serve a notice on a
person having control of a house in multiple occupation where, in their opinion., the
house is so far defective with respect to the provision of facilities and amenities having
regard to the number of individual households accommodated on the premises as not
to be reasonably suitable for occupation by those individuals or households. 18 cases
were dealt with during the year .
The Housing Act, 1964, Part IV enlarges the local authority's powers to deal
with squalid living conditions and provides an entirely new power enabling the Council
to take over control of management of a multi-occupied house summarily if the living
conditions are so bad that immediate intervention rather than the more protracted
processes of requiring the proprietor to ameliorate the conditions is necessary for the
protection of the residents' safety, welfare or health.
In addition the local authority may now make, subject to confirmation by the
Minister, a scheme authorising compilation of a Register of houses in multiple occupation
and the Council at its meeting in December approved a recommendation of the
Public Health Committee that the London Borough of Barnet be requested to consider
at an early date, the desirability of compiling such a Register.
Slum Clearance and Individual Unfit Houses
During the year three houses were represented as unfit for human habitation and
incapable of repair at reasonable cost. Being attached to other property it was therefore
expedient to make Closing Orders. One family had been re-housed by the end of
the year. The two others will shortly be accommodated.
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