View report page

122
Passages at Rear of Premises.
Secondary means of access are provided for many business
premises. They are of importance to owners, but unfortunately
they can be a menace to public health, largely because the persons
responsible do not display a more intelligent interest in sanitary
conditions. There is invariably free access to these passages,
which fact, together with lack of light, invites abuse. Where
we have succeeded in having gates erected, they are usually left
open, thus affording facilities for improper usage. If the entrance
gates were shut, much of the trouble would be prevented,
but when gates are left open and a van or cart is left in the
carriageway, these conditions lend themselves to making the
place a public convenience. Where there are a number of tradespeople
whose duty it is to keep the gates closed it is a difficult
matter to fix responsibility.
House-to-House Inspection.
The number of dwelling-houses visited during the year was
2,128, and at 74 per cent. of these, sanitary defects were discovered,
whereas at premises visited in the course of routine
work, defects were discovered at 52 per cent. This is explained
by the fact that house-to-house inspections are made in selected
areas. By reference to the table giving the number of nuisances
it will be seen that some items are included which cannot be strictly
classed as sanitary defects, i.e., sashcords, coppers, stoves,
etc.—but the condition of these fittings largely contributes
towards rendering a house reasonably fit for human habitation
or otherwise, and owners, almost without exception, acknowledge
this by making good these defects without recourse to legal
proceedings.
INCREASE OF RENT AND MORTGAGE INTEREST (RESTRICTIONS)
ACTS, 1920-23.
47 applications were made by tenants for certificates under
Section 2 of the above-named Act, alleging that the premises were
not reasonably fit for human habitation nor kept in a reasonable
state of repair. At these houses the inspections were made by
myself. 14 certificates were issued where the premises came
within this designation, but in 33 instances conditions were not
bad enough to warrant granting certificates. In every case a