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rooms, regard is had not to the number of individuals but to the equivalent
number of units. For this purpose a child of under one year of age is
ignored, while a child between one year and ten years of age counts as
half a unit.
The survey carried out as required by the Housing Act, 1936, showed
that of the 12,943 houses visited 152 were overcrowded by the standards
of the Housing Act. By 1941 the number of overcrowded premises had
been reduced to 17. The figures remained low for the next three years.
Towards to end of 1945, however, there was a marked increase which
was followed by a still greater rise in 1946 when 486 new cases were
added to the register. The number of overcrowded houses reached the
highest level of 628 at the end of 1948. In the succeeding years more
cases were abated each year than there were new cases, so that by the
end of 1950 the number of houses known to be overcrowded had fallen
to 338 and by the end of 1952 to 229.
On January 1st there were 139 known cases of overcrowding.
During the year the circumstances of all these families living in accommodation
crowded by more than one unit were brought to the notice of
the Public Health Committee. In most cases the recommendation that
some family should be rehoused was forwarded to the Housing Committee.
Of the 106 cases of overcrowding which were abated 43 were
the result of housing by the Council, this being in a Council house in
36 instances and in a requisitioned house in 7. Many of the 63 families
rehoused by other means were accommodated in the new towns.
During the year 50 new cases of overcrowding were learned of so that
at the end of the year the number of known cases of overcrowding was
139. Of these 50 were overcrowded by half a unit and 52 by one unit.
The distribution of the other cases was 18 houses overcrowded by 1½
units, 12 by 2, 3 by 2½, 2 by 3, 1 by 3½ and 1 by 4.