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Of the eighty-eight cases remaining at the end of the year,
twenty-three families were overcrowded to the extent of only
half a unit (child under ten years), and fifteen others by only
one unit.
Nine new cases of overcrowding were reported during 1937,
of which two were abated before the end of the year. In the
remaining seven cases, the overcrowding had occurred prior to
the "appointed day," and therefore did not constitute an
offence under the Act.
The Minister of Health, by an Order dated 26th June,
1936, fixed the 1st July, 1936, as the "appointed day" for
Wimbledon for the purposes of Section 62 of the Housing Act,
1936.
The effect of this was to require that by the 1st January,
1937, every rent book used in relation to a "dwelling house"
should contain a summary in the prescribed form of certain
provisions of the Act, and a statement of the permitted
number of persons who could occupy the house without
causing it to be overcrowded.
Overcrowding occurring after 1st January, 1937, with
certain exceptions, thus becomes an offence.
Up to 31st December, 1937, three thousand three hundred
and ninety-five certificates as to "permitted numbers" had been
issued by the Department to owners or agents of properties in
the Borough. Nine hundred and twenty-nine of these were
issued during 1937, and necessitated measurements being carried
out in three hundred and five houses.
Each applicant was also supplied with a summary of the
provisions of the Act as to overcrowding. The provisions of the
Act, and information as to the "appointed days," were widely
published throughout the district and in the local press in 1936.
(b) HOUSING CONDITIONS.
Seventy-four houses and one hundred flats were erected by
private enterprise during 1937; in addition, eleven houses were
converted into twenty-eight flats.
According to the Registrar-General's estimate for the
middle of 1937, the population in Wimbledon was 58,440 as
compared with 58,390 in 1936.
As has been previously stated, there is an absence of
suitable building sites in Wimbledon for the erection of houses
for persons of smaller means.
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