[Report 1954] / Medical Officer of Health, Pudsey Borough.

  • Pudsey (England). Borough Council.
Date:
1954
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1954] / Medical Officer of Health, Pudsey Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    26/80 (page 24)
    in my opinion, of great importance that suitable areas should be compulsorily purchased for use as new building sites. In other words, so far as practicable ugly mips should not be left in the town but should be redeveloped. The inspection of these unfit houses and the preparation of the necessary schedules for submission to the Ministry of Housing will put a heavy responsibility on tlie staff of the department. It is important to' stress that the programme of clearance has been formulated only by a preliminary survey and that a full and com¬ plete survey and inspection will be necessary before further steps are taken_ In addition, it is hoped to be able to resume the pre-war practice of individual house-to-house inspections of dwellinghou^^es wdiich can be made fit at a reasonable cost, and the subsequent enforcement of notice under Section 9 of the Housing Act, 1936. In the past few^ years the problem of unfit houses repairable at a reasonable cost has had. b\' force of circumstances, to be dealt with by securing first aid repairs principally under the Public Health Acts. With the passing of the Housing Repairs and Rents Act it should be possible to insist that as a result of house to house inspec¬ tions houses should be made fit for human habitation in all respects under Section 9 of the Housing Act, 1936. In previous reports I have commented on the high cost of repairs wdiich, together wdth static rent control, has prevented owmers from carrying out necessary repairs. Hnder the new Act the owmer is given an inducement to increase rent to recompense him for expenditure on repairs. Furthermore, he is enabled to obtain grants from the local authority to carry out improvements to his property. On the other hand the tenant can wdthhold the payment of an}” increase in rent providing he obtains a Certificate of Disrepair from the local authority to the effect that the house is not in all respects fit for habitation. The issue of such certificates has caused some concern to myself and to officers in other authori¬ ties who have to interpret this legislation. I have recommended to the Council that back-to-back houses are not necessarily unfit for habitation purely by reason of being back-to-back houses. Further¬ more, I have recommended that the provision of one w^ater closet for tw^o houses is the lowest standard of sanitary accommodation wdiich should be accepted. During the year, as wdll be seen from the statistical report, demolition orders have been made in respect of six dw'ellinghouses and voluntary closing orders have been accepted from the owners in respect of thirteen other premises. The Council in each of the above cases has rehous,ed the tenants in order to expedite the demolition of the buildings. In this respect 1 have to thank the Housing IManager for his ready co-operation and help. As in former years all prospective tenants of Corporation houses are visited and their premises ins])ected, and the person is allocated only on a clear report from the department. In this w^a}' I am convinced that the infestation of Corporation houses by vermin has been reduced to a minimum.