Housing of the Working Classes Act 1890


The Housing of the Working Classes Act 1890 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Background

The Housing of the Working Classes Act 1885 was a public health act, not a housing act. It empowered local authorities to condemn slum housing, but could not purchase the land and finance new housing. This act did that.

The Act

The act is made up of four parts and seven schedules:
This gave London County Council the legal power to compulsory buy land out of area and to construct tenements and housing estates.
The powers under part 3 were extensive:
allowing the Council to:
The Housing of the Working Classes Act 1894 amended the financial provisions of part 2 of the principal Act.
The Housing of the Working Classes Act 1900 extended these powers to all authorities other than rural district councils.