View report page

44
We were successful in closing 11 houses under
Part II. of the 1930 Act. Four of these have since been
demolished; the others are now uninhabited and are
shortly to be demolished. A further four houses were
so altered and improved as to fit them for habitation for
two persons per house only. In all these instances the
owners met us with goodwill and joint action between us
led to the closing of the 11 houses without resort to complicated
legal action. The displaced tenants were either
re-housed on the Council's Housing Estate, or were
successful in obtaining their own alternative accommodation.
There remains in Bromley no house that can be
classified as unfit for habitation at the present time ;
certain houses at low rental are necessary to all towns, but
provided they possess the amenities of modern living
conditions, I see no reason why they should be demolished
because they have been in existence over 100 years.
An equally important work, with the demolition of
unfit houses, is the maintenance in good repair of the
existing houses, a work which is indicated by Appendix
XV. and Appendix VIII. and is actively pressed by this
Local Authority.
Overcrowding.
Seven bouses were visited on complaint of overcrowding,
and in six cases conditions were remedied.
When over-crowding exists in a one-family house, and
the re-distribution of sleepers is not practicable extreme
hardships would occur if statutory action was taken.
Legal action is always taken when overcrowding is found
in bouses occupied by two or more families.
Prevalent Defects in Housing.
Appendix VIII. indicates the prevalent defects
found in bouses, viz., unpaved yards, drinking water
from cisterns, want of ventilation to food stores, worn
stone sinks, insanitary box seats to W.C.'s, dampness due
to porosity of bricks, absence of, or perished damp-proof
courses, and defective roofs, rain water guttering and
pipes.