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27
in the district or the effects of time upon the various private housing
estates in Harrow.
One of the many changes wrought by the war in the matter of housing
is the source of requests to visit. In pre-war days it was unusual for
such requests to come from property owners; to-day it is a common
occurrence, the reason being that it is hoped support will be given to
applications for Building Licences or permits. As owners of all types
of property take this step it does, if nothing else, extend the information
available regarding the nature and existence of housing defects.
It is not, of course, every owner who considers the maintenance of
property a matter of importance and in consequence appeals to the
department for assistance. Unfortunately there are a number who use
the fact that licences and permits are necessary as a means of delaying
the carrying out of work. It is the owner in this category who, whenever
possible, brings up outstanding War Damage claims or the difficulty of
obtaining a builder to carry out the work as an excuse for repairs not
being executed and. whilst War Damage claims, Building Licences and
the shortage of labour have, in the case of owners anxious to carry out
repairs, added to the routine work of the department, in the case of
unwilling owners, they have increased considerably the difficulties
experienced in securing the early completion of repair work.
There are dwellings in Harrow which, by reason of disrepair, sanitary
defects and bad arrangement, are suitable only for demolition. There
are others where, because of lack of maintenance, reconditioning or
repair work is required. As to the number of properties in the first group,
no figure or estimate based upon a recent survey can be given. Seven
years during which-but little maintenance work has been carried out
have passed since action was possible under the clearance provisions of
the Housing Acts whilst Section 11 (i.e. for dealing with dwellings that
cannot be repaired at a reasonable cost) has been used in isolated cases
only to deal with properties where no alternative to demolition was
possible.
There is to date no indication as to when the machinery of the
Housing Acts can again be operated to the full, and it may well be that
before this day arrives the pre-war standards to which the dwellings
the subject of confirmed Orders failed to reach may be changed.
Even an estimate of the number of properties likely to be considered for
clearance or demolition is therefore of little value, and prior to any
figure being given a survey will be necessary.
Of the cottage property throughout the district in need of reconditioning
there is little to be said—the demand that new work is making
on the material and labour available prevents serious action being taken
to effect reconditioning, though it is becoming abundantly clear that
the present-day policy of "patching" is resulting in a steady deterioration
of many properties.
It is, however, the properties built since 1930 and falling in the
second category that are going to be the "problem children" of future
years. There are estates in the Pinner, Hatch End, Harrow and Stanmore
Districts, built since this date, from which complaints concerning