-6-
It is my own personal opinion.
that this method is uneducational.
and here I am speaking for myself
The upstairs
and not for my committee
tenants will be very happy to throw their litter on to the ground-floor as
usual, when they know that the ground-floor tenant is going to be held
responsible. Ground-floor tenants already have to suffer enough from the dirt
thrown down to their door-steps; if they are then held responsible to clean it
up or pay a fine if they don't, I am afraid there will be some quarrelling. I
cannot see this clause working out!
Suggestions
Before I end this short talk, I should like to mention a few
suggestions as to what might be done, over and above what is already being
done, to improve public health and hygiene. I should be very happy if you,
or other members of the public, would also offer suggestions, or criticisms,
which might be put before our Committees.
1.
I think we should aim at collective responsibility, as this is more
educational than summonsing the unlucky ground-floor tenants under the
liability clause. The whole block should be responsible, and for this we
might consider requiring every block of tenants to arrange a rota system, each
flat of tenants being responsible on one particular day for keeping the
common parts and the ground-floor pavement of the building clean.
Alternatively each block of flats should have its own caretaker paid by the
tenants to do this work, and if the work is not done properly, the caretaker
should be held liable to prosecution.
17.