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Section 13 enacts that in any contract for letting an unfurnished house for
human habitation there shall be implied a condition that the house is in all
respects reasonably fit for such habitation. Such condition is implied by
existing law on letting a furnished house. In the event of a breach of such
condition, any inmate of such house who suffers any loss, by injury to health
or otherwise, in consequence, shall be entitled to recover damages (from the
person responsible for such breach.
Sections 14 to 18 comprise definitions, short title of Act, and limits its
operation to England.
It will be seen that a large part of the Bill is directed to the
endeavour to facilitate the working of the existing Acts. "Our
task," said Lord Salisbury, confirming what I have already written
on the subject, "has principally been to suggest alterations that
would secure a more ample and rapid execution of the law, and
we believe if that can be done the sanitary evils will altogether
disappear."* To what extent this object will be attained, should
the Bill become law, time only can shew. But however valuable in
effect the proposed amendments of those Acts may prove, it may
be confidently anticipated that Section 13 will always be regarded
as the central feature of the Bill. In October last, I directed
attention to the subject dealt with in that section, but I do
not anticipate that my views—that "there should be an implied
warranty when a house is let that it is in a proper sanitary condition,"
and that this warranty should be "established as a principle
of English Law "—would so soon be endorsed by such a body as the
Commission. Still less could I anticipate that such views would so
soon find expression in a Bill introduced by a Conservative Prime
* The Prime Minister had previously said in his speech, introducing the Bill,
"The Sanitary evils are in process of fairly rapid cure. In truth,
if the law as it exists was fully exercised, these evils would hardly remain."
Then follow the words quoted in the text. His Lordship continued, "The most
cheering point with respect to the sanitary evils is that with the increase of
civilization, and with the progress of the community, they tend to vanish
altogether, and they differ in this respect from the evils of overcrowding. The
more prosperity increases, the more sanitary evils vanish; but the more
prosperity increases, the more there is the danger, unless care is taken, of overcrowding."
Referring to the cause of overcrowding, in another part of his
remarkable speech, Lord Salisbury said, "The difficulty in London lies in the
enormous distance which the circumference lies from tlis centre. In other
places it is possible to meet it by building cottages on the outskirts, but that
cannot be done in London, because of the distance being so great." Hence the
necessity for providing the special "facilities" (by section 3) for procuring
"sites" for the erection of dwellings for the most necessitous classes." The
quotations are from the Times report of the Prime Minister's speech.