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86
rate of house production we have been able to deal with many
of the cases through the Council's scheme. It is not possible
always to adopt this remedy, because overcrowding in many
instances is often associated with large families of limited
means, and people living under these conditions have often
to come to a decision as to whether it is better to spend money
on a larger rent for a larger house, or to continue to live under
overcrowded conditions and spend the money on food. Both
have points in their favour and different individuals decide
in different ways.
Another aspect of the housing problem is the fact that
in this borough nearly 4,000 houses which were originally
intended for one family are now occupied by two or more
without being specially adapted for the purpose. This
arrangement very often starts with shelter being given
temporarily to newly married couples with limited means,
but the arrival of a young family soon causes difficulties and
leads to an uncomfortable standard of living on the part of
each family. The sub-tenant usually finds difficulty in
getting other rooms because of his young family, and the
tenant often finds the presence of the sub-tenant inconvenient
and irksome, if not actually disagreeable. A condition
of overcrowding may follow on this, but, whether it
does or not, such method of living is far from ideal and is an
aspect of the housing question that sooner or later must
receive the consideration of the Council. It must not be
imagined, however, that people live in these circumstances
because of economic conditions; in many cases they are paying
rent not far short of what they would pay for a decent selfcontained
dwelling.
The hutments continue to be used as permanent homes,
but as time progresses these require more and more attention
to maintain them in a habitable condition. They were erected
as a war-time measure and have outlived this purpose.