Housing : being the annotated texts of The Housing Act, 1957 and the Housing (Financial Provisions) Act, 1958 / by J.D. James.

  • Great Britain
Date:
1958
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Housing : being the annotated texts of The Housing Act, 1957 and the Housing (Financial Provisions) Act, 1958 / by J.D. James. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    INTRODUCTION 1930 (15 Halsbury’s Statutes (2nd Edn.) 754), and its amending Acts, and the Public Health (London) Act, 1936 (15 Halsbury’s Statutes (2nd Edn.) 887). This body of law still retains many marks of its historical evolu- tion; for example, there are still many local Act provisions in force in particular places; some provisions relate only to particular types of locality, or are adoptive; and there is some overlapping with other legislation. The provisions of ss. g1—100 of the Public Health Act, 1936, relating to the abatement of nuisances may to some extent overlap the provisions of Parts IT and III of the Housing Act, 1957, post, dealing with houses unfit for human habitation (see Salisbury Corpn. v. Roles, [1948] W.N. 412; 92 Sol. Jo. 618; ands. 188, post). (4) Other branches of the law, of which housing is one, which are still regarded as part of the law of public health in the widest sense of that term. Thus the Twelfth Edition of Lumley’s Public Health contains not - only the public health Acts, in the narrower sense, but also the statutes on housing, rating, water supply, town and country planning, and many other subjects which concern local authorities. The central authority is in many cases the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, and, in others, the Ministry of Health or other departments, such as the Ministry of Education or of Transport and Civil Aviation, created to deal with particular topics as their importance has increased. Early housing Acts. The earliest housing Acts were prompted by public concern over the living conditions of the working classes, and it is usual to regard two Acts passed in 1851 as marking the origin of this legisla- tion (cf. Hzll’s Complete Law of Housing, 4th Edn., at p. 3). The Common Lodging Houses Act, 1851 (14 & 15 Vict. c. 28), which dealt with the registra- tion, regulation, inspection and cleansing of common lodging houses, was perhaps mainly a sanitary or public health statute; but cf. ss. 36 and go of the Housing Act, 1957, post. The Labouring Classes Lodging Houses Act, 1851 (14 & 15 Vict. c. 34), empowered the council of any borough or any local board of health or certain other authorities to adopt the provisions of the Act and to erect, purchase or lease lodging houses for the labouring classes; this was the beginning of the power of a local authority under Part V of the Housing Act, 1957, to provide housing accommodation to meet the needs of the district (see ss. g1 et seq., post). Another branch of housing law arose from the Artizans and Labourers Dwellings Act, 1868 (31 & 32 Vict. c. 130), known as Mr. Torrens’s Act, with its amending Acts of 1879 (42 & 43 Vict. c. 64) and 1882 (45 & 46 Vict. c. 54). These proceeded on the principle that the responsibility of maintaining his houses in proper condition rested upon the owner; if he failed to keep them fit for human habitation they were to be closed, and if not repaired, demolished. Provisions of this type, though now more complex, are to be found in Part ITI of the Housing Act, 1957 (see ss. 9-41, post). Sir Richard Cross’s Acts, the Artizans and Labourers Dwellings Improve- ment Acts, 1875 and 1879 (38 & 39 Vict. c. 36 and 42 & 43 Vict. c. 63), intro- duced the principle of dealing with whole areas where houses were insanitary or the buildings were badly laid out. Provisions dealing with clearance areas and re-development areas are now contained in Part III of the Housing Act, 1957, post. The Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c. 72), introduced amendments. The Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1890 (53 & 54 Vict. c. 70), was the first attempt to consolidate the law; it remained the “ principal Act’ until rst July 1925. It should perhaps be mentioned that the Act of 1890 applied to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; it remained the principal Act in Northern Ireland, as amended, although replaced by the Housing Act, 1925 (15 & 16 Geo. 5 c. 14), in England and Wales, and by the Housing (Scotland) Act, 1925 (15 & 16 Geo. 5 c. 15), in Scotland. A comparison of Parts I, II and III of the Act of 1890 with