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Provision of Houses
Although the first of the Acts which enabled local authorities to
build houses to be occupied by those living in their districts was passed
as far back as 1890, it was not until after the first world war that local
authorities took advantage of their powers on any scale. The housing
situation in many districts had been becoming difficult before 1914.
The position was made more severe for a number of reasons. During
the years of the first world war no houses had been erected; the lack
of maintenance during these years resulted in a speedier obsolescence of
houses, whilst in addition building costs rose markedly.
In the 1920's a number of Housing Acts were passed to encourage
the building of new houses, the subsidies of some of these favouring
construction by local authorities, of others by private enterprise. The
flow of new houses was sufficiently satisfactory that the Housing Acts
of the 1930's aimed not so much at the construction of new houses as
at the prohibition of occupation of those which had had their day and
at the abatement of overcrowding. Nevertheless, it was becoming apparent
that the provision of houses for quite a substantial section of the community
would have to be the responsibility of local authorities rather
than private enterprise. The second world war added to housing
difficulties in just the same way as had the first war, with the added factor
of the large number of houses which were destroyed by enemy action.
The post-war period, then, found almost every section of the community
looking to the local housing authority to find them accommodation, a
very changed outlook from the time when it was only a limited section
of the population which would consider living in Council houses.
The number of houses in the ownership of the Harrow Council at
the outbreak of the war was some 2,000. Most of these had been erected