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73
location of the dwelling concerned. Briefly, in controlled tenancies,
the owner may apply for a Certificate of Qualification which
will not be granted unless the missing amenities are provided and
the house brought up to a proper standard of repair. Ultimately,
possession of a Certificate will enable him to increase the rent.
The Inspectors have been able to obtain a very large volume of
work by means of this procedure.
It would be undesirable to demolish old houses which are
in sound condition and which still have a substantial "life" but
lack of modern amenities, such as a bath and an inside toilet.
Improvement Grants are available to owners of such houses and
many who occupy their own properties have taken advantage of
the scheme.
Compulsory improvement (i.e. in the absence of a request
from the owner) can be enforced only where the tenant requests
it or if the premises are contained within a "Compulsory Improvement
Area" such as that established by the Council on part of
Bromley Common. Improvement has been affected in a considerable
number of old properties of sound structure by the use of
these methods but new legislation will remove the powers to
establish Compulsory Improvement Areas.
One of the greatest problems facing the Department in its
fight for better housing conditions is that posed by houses let in
"multiple occupation." This type of letting may vary from virtually
self-contained flats to old houses let room by room with toilet,
cooking, and other facilities shared between 2 or more families.
The conditions to be found vary from the objectionable to squalor
in an extreme degree. The Council has approved standards relating
to abatement of overcrowding, provision of amenities and for
securing precautions against the spread of fire in these multioccupied
premises. However, there are a large number of such
properties and although a start has been made on a systematic
programme progress with available staff has been slow.
These are the principal methods which the Department has
to remove the worst of our housing blots and to improve and
preserve the remainder. Some details of the progress made are
included in the body of this report.