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11
Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions)
Act, 1953
Closing Orders made under Section
10 (1)
Housing—Repairs
Action to secure the execution of repairs continued as
necessary and is summarised below.
A limitation is placed upon the effective repair of dwelling
houses by the " reasonable cost" provision of the
Housing Act, 1936. In many cases, if action is to be taken
at all, it must of necessity be directed towards the making
of demolition orders although it is true that in such cases the
owners have the option of making offers to carry out repairs.
After giving full consideration to the cost of works, in one
particular case, a statutory notice to carry out repairs was
served, but an appeal against this was allowed and the house
was declared to be unfit and not repairable at reasonable
cost. By comparison with this particular house the majority
of the pre 1918 houses in the district could be considered as
only fit for demolition action and the local authority is therefore
precluded from taking statutory action to effect thorough
repair. For some defects action could be taken under the
Public Health Act, but this does not provide the complete
answer.
Informal Action No. of
Houses
No. of unfit or defective houses rendered fit
during the period as a result of informal
action by the local authority 99
Action under Statutory Powers
Number of houses reported to Public Health
Committee with a view to service of statutory
notices 30
Number of statutory notices served 11
Public Health Acts
Number of houses in which defects were remedied after
service of formal notices:— No. of
Houses
(a) by owners 2
(b) by local authority in default of owners 0
Housing Act, 1936
Number of houses made fit after service of formal notices
(Section 9, 10, 11 and 16):—
(a) by owners 3
(b) by local authority in default of owners 0