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19.
III. SANITARY CIRCUMSTANCES
The present shortage of housing accommodation has
prolonged the life of worn-out property. Until houses can
be "buried" at the end of their life worn-out property will
remain a problem. Some owners are cutting their losses by
the simple expedient of abandoning property, and not collecting
rents, but leaving the tenant to pay the rates, and
in some cases considerable arrears of Schedule A Tax.
Over fifty properties in these circumstances have come
to our notice during the past 12 months or so, and there
are probably considerably more than this number. When the
owners who can be- found - and not all are found - ate confronted
with summonses for non-compliance with nuisance
notices, they apply to the Courts for Closing Orders, of
which 13 have been made over the past two years.
The Council is then faced with the alternative' of
allowing the tenants to remain in rapidly deteriorating
conditions, or permitting them to take priority over more
urgent cases which have been a long time on the Council's
housing list. If the owner is pressed to comply with the
Closing Order he must evict the tenant, who would -then have
to be temporarily accommodated by the L.C.C. in a welfare
institution.
A possible solution of this problem would be that no
closing orders should-be granted by the magistrate until
the rehousing position has been fully investigated, and
that the old property should be temporarily repaired pending
suitable rehousing.
The Tables on pages 54 and' 55 summarise the work of
the Sanitary Inspectors during the year.
Complaints.
5,391 complaints were recorded in the register, but in
addition numerous complaints were made direct to the sanitary
inspectors. The total number of visits made in investigating
complaints was 10,037.
Pangeroug Structure?.
The District Surveyor was notified on 395 occasions of
premises or parts of premises alleged to be structurally
dangerous.