A.D. 1924. the Minister may, with the approval of the Treasury, from time to time by order fix, from the date of service of a demand for the same till payment thereof from the owner, may be recovered in a court of summary jurisdiction and until recovery of such expenses and 5 interest the same shall be a charge on the premises. In all summary proceedings by the local authority for the recovery of any such expenses, the time within which the proceedings may be taken shall be reckoned from the date of the service of notice of demand.

10

(4) The local authority may by order declare any such expenses to be payable by monthly or annual instalments within a period not exceeding thirty years with interest at such rate as the Minister may, with the approval of the Treasury, from time to time by order fix, 15 from the date of the service of notice of demand until the whole amount is paid, and any such instalments and interest or any part thereof may be recovered in a summary manner from the owner or occupier, and, if recovered from the occupier, may be deducted by him 20 from the rent of the house.

(5) The local authority shall, for the recovery of their expenses with interest, have all the same powers and remedies under the Conveyancing Acts, 1881 to 1922, and otherwise as if they were mortgagees having 25 powers of sale and lease, of acccepting surrenders of leases and of appointing a receiver.

(6) An owner may appeal to the Minister against-
(a) any notice requiring him to execute works
under this section; or

(b) any demand for the recovery of expenses from
him under this section; or

30

(c) an order made by the local authority under this section with respect to those expenses; by giving notice of appeal to the Minister within twenty- 35 one days after the notice is received, or the demand or order is made, as the case may be, or such longer time as the Minister may allow, and no proceedings shall be taken in respect of any notice, order or demand whilst the appeal is pending:

Provided that no appeal against such a demand or order shall lie if and so far as the appeal raises any question which might have been raised on an appeal against the notice itself.

40

(7) Any such notice, demand or order or order shall be A.D. 1924. binding and conclusive as to any matters which could have been raised on such appeal to the Minister.

(8) In addition to serving the notice on the owner 5 the local authority may serve copies of the notice on any persons having an estate or interest in the premises superior to that of the owner, and it shall be the duty of the owner or any other person having such an estate or interest, on being so required by the local authority, 10 to state the name and address of the person from whom he holds, and if he fails to do so, or knowingly makes a mis-statement, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding five pounds.

(9) Any remedy given by this section for failure to 15 make or keep a house in all respects reasonably fit for human habitation shall be in addition to and not in derogation of any remedy available to the tenant against his landlord either at common law or otherwise.

(10) In this section "owner" has the same meaning 20 as in the Public Health Acts.

closed

4. Where a dwelling-house in respect of which a notice Power of has been served upon the owner by the local authority local authounder subsection (1) of the last foregoing section is not rity to capable without reconstruction of being rendered in all acquire 25 respects reasonably fit for human habitation, and a houses. closing order has in consequence been deemed to have [1923, s. 10 become operative in respect thereof, the Minister may on (2) (d).] the application of the local authority make an order authorising the authority to acquire the house, and 30 thereupon this Act shall apply as if the house were land authorised to be acquired compulsorily for the purposes of a reconstruction scheme under Part II. of this Act, and that land had been included in the scheme on account of the sanitary condition of the premises 35 thereon.

5. In the case of dwelling-houses intended or used for Informaoccupation by the working classes, the name and address tion to of the medical officer of health for the district and of the tenants of landlord or other person who is directly responsible for houses for the working 40 keeping the house in all respects reasonably fit for human classes. habitation shall be inscribed in the rent book, or, where [1919, s. 29.] a rent book is not used, shall be delivered in writing to the tenant at the commencement of the tenancy and

A.D. 1924. before any rent is demanded or collected; and where there has been a contravention of the provisions of this section in respect of any house, any person who demands or collects any rent of the dwelling-house shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding forty 5 shillings.

Byelaws respecting houses

divided into

separate

tenements. [1919, s. 26 (1), (5), and (10); 1923, 3. 14.]

Power of Local Authorities to make Byelaws.

6.—(1) The power of making and enforcing byelaws under section ninety of the Public Health Act, 1875, and section ninety-four of the Public Health (London) Act, 10 1891, shall in the case of houses intended or used for occupation by the working classes be deemed to include the making and enforcing of byelaws :

(a) for fixing and from time to time varying the
number of persons who may occupy a house 15
which is let in lodgings or occupied by members
of more than one family, and for separation of
the sexes therein;

(b) for the registration and inspection of such

houses;

(c) for enforcing drainage and promoting cleanliness and ventilation of such houses;

(d) for requiring provision adequate for the use of and readily accessible to each family of—

(i) closet accommodation;

(ii) water supply and washing accommodation;

(iii) accommodation for the storage, preparation, and cooking of food;

20

25

and, where necessary, for securing separate 30
accommodation as aforesaid for every part of
such house which is occupied as a separate
dwelling;

(e) for the keeping in repair and adequate lighting
of any common staircase in such houses;
(f) for securing stability, and the prevention of and
safety from fire;

(g) for the cleansing and redecoration of the premises
at stated times, and for the paving of the courts
and courtyards;

(h) for the provision of handrails, where necessary, for all staircases of such houses;

(i) for securing the adequate lighting of every room

in such houses;

35

40

(j) as respects houses situate in the administrative A.D. 1924. county of London, for the taking of precautions

in the case of infectious disease;

and any such byelaws, in addition to any other penalty, 5 may prohibit the letting for occupation by members of more than one family of any such house unless the same are complied with, subject in the case of houses so let or occupied at the time when such byelaws come into force to the allowance of a reasonable time for the 10 execution of any works necessary to comply therewith.

15

20

25

(2) This section shall apply to the administrative
county of London with the following modifications:--
(a) As respects the county of London, the byelaws
for the purposes specified in subsection (1) of
this section shall be made by the London
County Council, and shall be observed and
enforced by each metropolitan borough council
except as regards byelaws for the purposes
specified in paragraph (f) of subsection (1),
which shall be enforced by the London County
Council;

(b) As regards the City of London, such byelaws
shall be made and enforced by the Common
Council except as regards byelaws for the
purposes specified in paragraph (f) of subsection
(1), which shall be made and enforced by the
London County Council.

Byelaws so made by the London County Council may provide that the byelaws shall, either generally or 30 as respects any particular metropolitan borough or any part thereof, have effect subject to such modifications, limitations or exceptions as may be specified in the byelaws; and as soon as any such byelaws come into force, all byelaws made by the council of any metro35 politan borough under section ninety-four of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, shall cease to have effect, but the council of a metropolitan borough shall themselves have power at any time after such byelaws have been made by the London County Council to make 40 byelaws under the said section ninety-four with respect to any houses or parts of houses in their area let in lodgings or occupied by members of more than one family to which the byelaws made by the London County Council do not apply.

45

(3) If in the opinion of the Minister premises are being occupied by members of more than one family or

A.D. 1924. are intended to be converted for such occupation in the district of any local authority and either no byelaws have been made by the local authority for the purposes specified in subsection (1) of this section, or the byelaws made are not sufficient properly to regulate such occupa- 5 tion or conversion, the Minister may himself make byelaws for such purposes, which shall have effect and snall be enforced as if they had been made by the local authority.

Execution

of works to comply with byelaws.

[1919, s. 26

(2), (4), and

(6) to (9); 1921, s. 5.]

7.-(1) Byelaws under the last foregoing section 10
may impose the duty of executing any work required to
comply therewith upon the owner within the meaning
of the Public Health Acts of any such house, or upon any
other person having an interest in the premises, and may
prescribe the circumstances and conditions in and subject 15
to which any such duty is to be discharged.

(2) For the purpose of discharging any duty so
imposed, the owner or other person may at all reasonable
times enter upon any part of the premises.

(3) Where an owner or other person has failed to 20
execute any works which he has been required to execute
under any such byelaws, the local authority by whom the
byelaws are enforced may, after giving to him not less
than twenty-one days' notice in writing, themselves
execute the works and recover the costs and expenses, 25
and for that purpose the provisions of section three of
this Act with respect to the execution of works and the
recovery of expenses by local authorities shall apply with
such modifications as may be necessary.

(4) Where the person on whom obligations are 30
imposed by any byelaws made for the purposes specified
in subsection (1) of the preceding section with respect to
houses occupied as therein mentioned holds the premises
under a lease or agreement and satisfies the local
authority that compliance with the byelaws is contrary 35
to the provisions of the lease or agreement, or that the
whole or any part of the expenses of carrying out the
obligations ought to be borne by his lessor or other
superior landlord, the local authority may make applica-
tion to the county court, and the county court may, after 40
giving the lessor or any other superior landlord an
opportunity of being heard,-

(a) in the first case, order that the provisions of the
lease or agreement be relaxed so far as they are