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99
THE HOUSING OF THE WORKING CLASSES ACT, 1890.
THE HOUSING, TOWN PLANNING, &c. ACT, 1909.
THE HOUSING (Inspection of District) REGULATIONS, 1910.
A tabular statement of the work done under the above-named
Statutes and Regulations is given on page 96. It will be observed
from this statement that there has been no demolition of property
following upon closing orders.
In relation to the housing problem, the census has shown that a
greater degree of overcrowding exists than was believed. It must be
borne in mind, however, that the census introduced an entirely new
criterion of what constitutes overcrowding. It is customary to take
the standard laid down by the Local Government Board in their
model bye-laws, viz:—
(a) 400 cubic feet per head for rooms in which persons both
live and sleep, and
(b) 300 cubic feet per head for rooms used solely as sleeping
apartments or for the waking life of the tenants,
(two children under 10 count as one adult).
The census returns are given in terms of tenements with more
than two occupants per room. Thus there were 1,447 tenements of 1
room only. These accommodated 2,622 persons. 1,155 of these tenements
housed families of one or two persons, representing altogether
a population of 1,581. 292 tenements of one room each were overcrowded,
having a population of 1,041, an average of 3.5 persons per
room.
Two roomed tenements numbered 2,585, representing a population
of 7,947. 2,157 of these tenements accommodated 2,434 persons in
families of not more than 4 persons. 428 tenements, representing 5,513
persons, were overcrowded. The average was 6:4 persons per room.
Similarly in 3 roomed tenements 612 were overcrowded. The
population inhabiting them numbered 4,741, or an average of 2 6 per
room.