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7
Small property in Bethnal Green often changes hands at a price
which will only return the purchaser in rent a bare five per cent,
on his capital. This leaves no margin for the necessary outlay on
lepairs or for other expenses. The new landlord calculates on being
able to recoup himself by screwing up the rents, and the unfortunate
tenants must pay or submit to be turned out.
In the Chief Inspector's report will be found particulars of some
of these cases of abnormally increased rents. He instances some
streets where the tenants had paid for many years 9/- and 9/6 per
week for their houses. The property changed hands and the rents
were raised to 11/- and 11/6 ; again the houses were sold, and the
new owner promptly increased the rents to 18/-, 19/- and 19/6 per
week. Now the incomes of the people who inhabit these small
houses are not elastic, so that in order to meet the increased rent
they are constrained to take in lodgers and to sublet to the utmost
capacity of the dwelling, hence overcrowding.
When the overcrowding caused in this way was discovered,
notices were served upon the owners to abate it, and several families
were turned out. The committee however felt compelled to discontinue
proceedings as some of the unfortunate persons who were
ejected were absolutely unable to obtain accommodation elsewhere,
and something very nearly approaching a public scandal resulted. Mr.
Foot found two families living in the yards and washhouses of the
premises from which they had been evicted. One family, consisting
of a man, his wife and three children, had had no shelter for a
fortnight, beyond the walls of a back-yard into which their sticks of
furniture had been thrown. They were wet through and shivering
with cold, but they were not legally destitute as the husband had
work and they were not without money. Full details will be found
in Mr. Foot's report.
Official enquiry into the numbers of inhabitants is often looked
upon with considerable suspicion. I have reluctantly arrived at the
conclusion that very litle faith can be placed upon the accuracy of
the replies given to questions of this nature by the occupants of