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61
HOUSING.
During the year the activities of the Housing Committee have
continued, but unfortunately the clearance of the slum areas has been
considerably slowed down owing to the lack of re-housing facilities.
The chief obstacle to progress is the entire lack of suitable
vacant sites for building purposes. Many suggestions have been made
and many avenues explored without any solution to the problem having
as yet been found, thus it comes about that of 11 small areas represented
under Section 1 of the Housing Act for clearance, it has only been
found possible to deal with one.
House to House Inspections and Repair Work under Section 17
Housing Act.
On the other hand, a great advance was made when the Council
adopted my recommendation to expedite House to House Inspections
under the Consolidated Regulations. Three additional temporary
Sanitary Inspectors and two temporary Clerks were appointed in October
to augment the permanent staff. Thus it was found possible to detail
six Inspectors for these duties entirely. Already in so short a space of
time much useful work and recording has been accomplished: 4,340
houses have been inspected and 3,872 houses rendered decently fit for
occupation.
Underground Rooms.
The work of dealing with underground rooms had been so timed
that the whole would have been dealt with under Section 20 of the
Housing Act, 1930, by the end of 1935.
The Housing Act, 1935, however, came into operation in August,
and by Section 84 it was found that the powers given under Section 20
of the 1930 Act had been greatly extended. By this new Act, underground
rooms which do not comply with the regulations or cannot be
made to comply, now have to be closed for human occupation entirely.
All the rooms dealt with under Section 20 during the last five years will
have to be re-represented to the authority under the new Section 84 of
the 1935 Act. This will of necessity take time as difficulties will arise,
especially the re-housing of many persons who will thus be deprived
of the use of basements for living purposes.
In November the Council's new regulations dealing with underground
rooms based principally on the model regulations were confirmed
by the Minister of Health.