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(2) Houses in Multiple Occupation
The Housing Act, 1969, Part IV, contains a new definition for a house in multiple
occupation being "a house which is occupied by persons who do not form a single
household", the former definition referring to "a house which is occupied by members
of more than one family".
Some difficulty had arisen in the past in houses occupied by persons all claiming
some family relationship where, on inspection, it seemed clear that there were a number
of households sharing unsatisfactory domestic facilities. The new definition enables local
authorities to improve conditions in these properties.
The Act also gives an additional power to local authorities to close any part of a
house in multiple occupation which is not provided with adequate means of escape in
case of fire and cannot be provided with such means at a reasonable expense.
The Housing Manager has continued to refer cases where applications for rehousing
indicated multiple occupation problems. His co-operation in this aspect of
unsatisfactory housing has enabled action to be taken with a minimum of hardship to
the occupants.
Further progress has been made in implementing the Council's standard in these
houses, and as owners show willingness to adopt these reasonable provisions for multiple
lettings after informal consultation, fewer statutory proceedings have been necessary.
Formal action taken during the year is shown below :
(1) Number of Management Orders made Nil
(2) Number of Directions made 8
(3) Number of Notices served requiring additional amenities 9
(4) Number of Management Orders revoked 1
(3) Certificates of Disrepair
Whereas nearly 100 applications were received annually in the seven years following
the introduction of the Rent Act, in recent years it has been almost ignored by
tenants of controlled premises and no longer provides a means whereby an owner is
required to carry out repairs in order to receive the prescribed rent.