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Appellant visited the house he found the rooms and staircase dirty; and he again
visited on the 14th April and he found bhe same state of dirt in this place. All
I can hope is that the Local Authority will bear in mind what my Lord and my
brother Wills has said and frame a bye-law which is in such terms as will avoid
that which makes the present one unjust, namely—making a person responsible who
may be simply landlord in the sense of the ultimate receiver of the rent, and
apparently a perfectly respectable tenant who is anxious to see that the lodgings,
when he lets them, are kept in a good state, and takes care that his lodgers do
their duty and keep them clean, without fair notice to him of any failure on the
part of those who are actually managing the premises to do their duty. I do not
agree, speaking personally, as regards myself, and naturally with great respect to my
brother Wills, about the period to be tied up—that you must not tie up a definite
period. I cannot help thinking that local bodies, who know the local needs and
who express the desire of the community by representation, and who must know
their business, ought not to be lightly interfered with upon matters of management
and routine such as this is. The first week in April has been found by one or two
learned Magistrates in one district of London not to be unreasonable, and I should
not have been inclined myself to interfere with any period they choose to fix if they
are the appointed representatives of the ratepayers.
With regard to the other case, I think it is impossible to accept as satisfactory,
in the sense of reasonableness, the definition there of " landlord." I will not say
more, having said that. I will not express my personal feeling further than to say,
at any rate, that I can understand the Local Authorities thinking it arguable that
" landlord " there did mean the person who was really in touch with the tenants.
I say nothing more. They must make it more clear, and I hope they will adopt the
recommendation of my Lord and brother Wills if they do re-consider these bye-laws
as to how far they should not confine the lodgings to be dealt with in this fashion to
lodgings where there is no doubt that it is practically impossible to get at the
necessary sanitary results by action against the lodgers or occupants of one or two
rooms.
Underground Bakehouses.
An underground bakehouse cannot be used as such unless it was so used at the
passing of the Factory and Workshop Act, 1901.
After January 1st, 1904, an underground bakehouse shall not be used unless
certified by the Borough Council.
For the purposes of this Act an underground bakehouse means one which
is so situated that the surface of the floor is more than three feet below the surface
of the footway of the adjoining street or of the ground adjoining or nearest to the
bakehouse.