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28
It must be placed on record that twice during 1920, recom???
mendations urging the appointment of a District Sanitar???
Inspector to fill the existing vacancy, were sent forward by th???
Health Committee to the Council, but were defeated. In Octobei
1925 I again reported on the inadequacy of the staff to carry on???
During the last five years, the Department has been definitel???
understaffed, and it has been quite impossible to deal with any thin;???
except complaints. District inspection has been quite out of thi???
question. The extra work necessitated by the Public Healtl
(Meat) Regulations, 1924, made matters worse. In order to eaa
the situation which was becoming acute, the work under the Shop
Act was ceased by the Public Health Committee and turned over ti
the Police. In addition to this, all the work under the Petroleun
Acts which involved a considerable amount of work was transferre
to the Fire Brigade.
The problem of dealing with property as I said last year is ex???
tremely difficult, the Rent Restrictions Act allowing only a 40 pe:???
cent, increase in the rent to cover the cost of repairs, which is in???
many cases totally inadequate. As things are now, many houses
are being crowded with two, three or more families. Sometime
these houses have been of the better class more commodious houses
and in the ordinary way the 40 per cent, would have been compared???
tively just. Where these are sublet, often at an exhorbitant profi???
to more families, the wear and tear on the landlord's property is???
not in arithmetical progression, and he is in no way recompense???
by the limited increase in the rent which he is allowed to charge???
His tenant profiteers unblushingly and the landlord has to bear the???
burden, and has no remedy whatever unless legal overcrowding
occurs. In nearly every case there is no legal overcrowding, bul???
as pointed out elsewhere considerable moral overcrowding. A;???
the same time there are landlords who are hard put to it, and the???
tenants have a great difficulty in getting anything done. It is
very difficult at times to hold the scales justly between the tenant
who has certain rights, and a harrassed landlord who is in certain
cases deprived of his rights by statute.