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A cooking stove or a range is any cooking stove, kitchen range or
other fixed grate using gas, electricity or any other fuel providing there is
an oven. 4,331 households share and 315 are without, the percentage of
households not having exclusive use being 7. The corresponding figure
for the county is 7 and for London 8.
A kitchen sink means a sink inside the building whether in a kitchen
or not, with a drain pipe leading outside the building and normally used
for washing up, etc. 4,180 households share a sink, 1,172 are without.
The percentage of households without exclusive use is 9. The corresponding
figures for Middlesex and for London were 11 and 16.
A water closet means a water closet flushed with water either from
a cistern or by hand and emptying into a main sewer, septic tank or
cesspool. 8,591 households share and 60 are without. The percentage
of households without exclusive use is 18. This is the same figure as for
Middlesex and is about half that of London.
A fixed bath is a bath permanently installed and connected with a
waste pipe leading outside a building. 9,100 households share a bath,
2,840 are without. The percentage of households without exclusive use
is 18. The corresponding figure for Middlesex is 35 and for London 62.
The figure of 60 as the number of households without water closets
points to the need for accepting these figures about these household arrangements
with some reserve, as none of these houses is known.
Houses Capable of Repair. Very slowly the difficulties resulting
from the shortage of labour and materials were removed and it was
possible year by year to call for increasing numbers of houses to be
improved, this work being done to an increasing extent under the powers
of the Housing Act rather than those of the Public Health Act. On the
other hand though a new position had arisen. Whereas before the war the
view of the local authority that a house was incapable of repair would
be opposed by the owner, in many instances these days the owner himself
is submitting it, even about a house which is considered to be capable
of being rendered fit for a further term of years. For some time past
the position has been unsatisfactory in that the owner has not been
getting sufficient return on his money to warrant his spending any more
on the house. On the other hand the houses are being occupied, although
suffering from serious defects and to lose them as housing units only
adds to the difficulties confronting the many who are unsatisfactorily
housed. Legislation passed in 1954 designed to encourage work being
done on houses might ease the situation.
Repairs Increase in Rent. The Housing Repairs and Rents Act
allows a "repairs increase" of the rents of controlled houses. Such
increase is permitted for improvement, structural alterations or the
Provision of additional or improved fixtures, or fittings. A house must
be in good repair and fit for human habitation before a repairs increase
can be claimed and must be kept so. Good repair relates to structure
and decoration, and fitness for human habitation means reasonably
suitable.
The permitted increase is an annual amount equal to eight per cent.
of the amount of the expenditure. The maximum increase is twice the
statutory repairs deduction of the house for rating purposes. The