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Housing Act, 1930.
No appeals were made to the Courts during the year against
Notices to repair under Section 17 which, considering the expensive
repairs required is a surprising fact.
Repairs to blocks of defective properties have proceeded
steadily, and no less than 578 Notices have been complied with. In
some cases owners or their agents have after completion expressed
their appreciation of the fact that their property has been given
an extended life by reason of the works executed.
Numerous difficulties are met with in practice and are only
to be surmounted by interviews on the affected properties. Many
working class houses were constructed in West Ham in former
times with either 4½in. walls or two 4½in. skins, not bonded, and
composed of bricks and bats. In many cases it has been found
impossible to decide whether or not a wall was of 9in. or 4½in.
without cutting into it. Naturally a 3in. bulge in a wall likely
to be of only 4½in. work, becomes a matter to be regarded
seriously.
In cases where Notices are not complied with under Section
17, Notices are always served under Section 18 before works are
executed in default. Under Section 18 Notices to the number of
143 were served during the year, and contractors were instructed
to execute works in default in 13 eases.
Six official representations were made in respect of houses
which were unlit for human habitation and could not be made fit
at a reasonable cost. An owner appeared with an offer to make fit
in one case, but in no case was it suggested that the house could
be made fit at a reasonable cost It should be noted that
although a house cannot be made fit at a reasonable cost, no
owner is prevented from making it fit at an unreasonable cost.
An injunction to restrain the Council from entering to execute
works was applied for in the High Court by an owner who had
entered into a contract to purchase a block of houses from the
exors. of an owner deceased, who had been served with Notices
under Section 17. The Notices had not been complied with at
the time of his death. The injunction failed, but pending a further
action against the Council in respect of the Notices, no entry is
being made on the property.
In another case where Notices to repair had been served, and
contractors had been instructed to execute the works in default,
the owner arrived on the second day, shook a workman
off a pair of steps, threw the steps into the street, and forcibly
prevented the execution of any further work. Summonses were
issued under the Housing Act, 1925, for obstruction, and also under
Section 18 of the 1930 Act, when, at the hearing, the Court inflicted
penalties. The work required by the Notices has since been completed
by the contractors.
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