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new Council flats provide a favourable breeding ground for cockroaches and
beetles but by arrangement with the Borough Architect's Department insecticide
powder is placed in the hot water ducts when they are being constructed. This
method of control has proved to be very successful.
The depositing of insanitaiy and other putrescible matter on vacant sites
and other places by unauthorised persons is a practice which is not easily
controlled and las been on the increase this year. This entails additional
work for the Public Health Inspectorate. During the year the number of sites
sprayed to prevent the breeding of flies on putrescible matter was 45>
108 articles of clothing, mattresses etc., were removed.
HOUSING REPAIRS & RENTS ACT 1954.
The Rent Act 1957 repealed Sections 23 to 32 of the Housing Repairs &
Rents Act 1954 which dealt with Repairs Increase in respect of Controlled
dwellings. Para. 3 (l) of the seventh schedule of the 1957 Rent Act
authorised that any certificate of defects issued by a local authority made
under the 1954 Act, being a certificate in force immediately before the
commencement of the Rent Act 1957, shall, to the extent that it specifies any
defects as regards the state of repair of any dwellings, have effect after
the commencement of the Act of 1957.
During the year two applications were made by owners for the revocation
of certificates of defects granted by the local authority under the 1954 Act.
In each case the dwellings were inspected and both applications for revocation
of the certificates were approved.
RENT ACT 1957.
The Rent Act 1957 has now been operative for almost two years and many of
the difficulties of applying this complicated legislation have resolved themselves.
Its application, apart from considerably increasing the work of the
Department, has proceeded smoothly and no major problems have arisen. This
may be, in no small measure, attributed to the time, considered to be well
spent, in the main by the Chief Public Health Inspector and his Deputy, who
have been responsible for both the administrative and practical work connected
with the Act in advising and assisting the numerous owners and tenants seeking
advice who have been interviewed by them since the Act became operative.
There has not been a single appeal made against decisions of the Council
in respect of the issue of Certificates of Disrepair, the acceptance of owners'
undertakings or the issue of Revocation Certificates since the Act came into
operation.
Before enumerating the information resulting from applications of
disrepair, an explanation of the work involved upon the receipt of applications
gives an indication of the amount of work involved which figures alone fail to
convey.