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of the London County Council (General Powers) Act 1922 were
enacted, and it is under these powers that abatement of verminous
conditions is now enforced. This Act states that the sanitary
authority, on a report from the Medical Officer of Health that any
articles are infested with vermin, "may, at their own expense,
cause such articles to be cleansed, disinfected or destroyed and (if
they think fit) removed for any such purpose"; and where it
appears to any sanitary authority on a report from the Medical
Officer of Health that any house is infested with vermin, "such
authority shall give notice in writing, to the owner or occupier,"
requiring him to take certain specified action and "to take such
other steps for the purpose of destroying and removing vermin as
the case may requir"
If there is no compliance with this notice, a penalty may be
imposed on summary conviction, and the sanitary authority "may,
if they think fit, at any time after the expiration of the period
specified in the notice, themselves do any work required by the
notice to be done," and recover all reasonable costs and expenses
as a civil debt.
Thus it is entirely optional under this Act whether the sanitary
authority proceeds by carrying out disinfestation for the destruction
of vermin. There is a duty of compelling by notice and legal
proceedings owners and occupiers to take such action, but although
permission is granted to the sanitary authority to take such action
in place of owners and occupiers, there are good reasons in most
cases why the owner or occupier should be considered primarily
responsible and should remain responsible for abatement of verminous
conditions, whether assisted or not by the Public Health
Department of the sanitary authority.
The Public Health Committee, when the question of making a
charge for destruction of vermin on private premises was considered,
were of opinion that where the responsibility could be decided as
between owner and tenant, and provided the cost could be afforded,
the charge for this service when carried out by the Public Health
Department, should be at the rate of 2s. 6d. per room for sulphur,
and 6s. Od. per room for "Vermicine" or "Cimex" treatment,
steam disinfection of bedding and clothing being carried out as in
the case of infectious disease free of charge.
The Housing Act, 1935, Section 82, states that if it appears to
the local authority that a building to which a Clearance Order or
a Demolition Order under Section 19 of the Act of 1930 applies,
requires to be cleansed from vermin, the Authority may serve a
notice on the owner that the local authority intend to cleanse the
building from vermin before it is demolished. The owner, having