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HOUSING
Unfit or "Slum" Houses,
Within the Borough there are upwards of 3,000 houses which according to present
day standards are classed as unfit and can quite reasonably be included in Clearance Areas,
Compulsory Purchase Orders under the Housing Act 1936 and Unfitness Orders under the Planning
Act, 1947, with a reasonable hope of being ultimately acquired at site value only.
With the passing of the Housing Subsidies Act, 1956, which came into force on 28th
March 1956, a special rate of subsidy-£22.1s.0d,-was provided for houses built to replace
unfit houses and this had the effect of facilitating and encouraging the replacement of slum
dwellings.
What constitutes an unfit slum house and what defects does an Inspector look for
when determining whether a house is sufficiently unfit to warrant inclusion in a Clearance
Scheme? The Housing Repairs and Rents Act, 1954, Section 9, defines the new standard of
fitness for human habitation and reads as follows:-
"Standards of fitness for human habitation-
(l) In determining for any purposes of the principle Act (that is the Housing
Act, 1936) whether a house is unfit for habitation, regard shall be had to
its condition in respect of the following matters, that is to say:-
(a) repair, (b) stability, (c) freedom from damp, (d) natural lighting,
(e) ventilation, (f) water supply, (g) drainage and sanitary conveniences,
(h) facilities for storage, preparation and cooking of food and for the
disposal of waste water; and the house shall be deemed to be unfit as
aforesaid if, and only if, it is so far defective in one or more of the
said matters that it is not reasonably suitable for occupation in that
condition."
In Circular 55/54, the Minister stated that "The purpose of the Section (9)
is to make clear what are the relevant matters (and the only relevant matters), to be
considered in deciding whether a house is fit or not. It is so drafted that a decision
that a house is unfit may be based either upon a major defect in one of the matters
listed or upon an accumulation of smaller defects in two or more of them".
It is the local authority's duty to decide whether or not a house, having
regard to the defects is unfit for habitation. This is decided upon by (a) an official
representation; (b) a report from any of their officers; or (c) other information in
their possession. It is the duty of the officers of the local authority to advise in
vhese matters and express opinions.
• m
In coming to a decision on a matter of this kind, regard might be had to an
opinion given in a recent case, that "whether a dwelling house is unfit for human
habitation or not is a question of fact to be determined by the local authority in a
judicial spirit. The standard to be applied is that of the ordinary reasonable roan,
and it does not follow that the whole building is unfit for human habitation because
certain rooms are unfit".
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