(Inner House Second Division) The Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1892, section 170, enacts that ‘every building erected for the purpose of being used as a dwelling-house . . shall have all the rooms sufficiently lighted and ventilated from an adjoining street or other open space directly attached thereto equal to at least three-fourths of the area to be occupied by the intended building.’ All the rooms in a proposed building were designed to have each a door and a chimney and one window which opened upon a court containing more than the minimum area specified in the section, and belonging to the proprietor of the proposed building. Held that the provisions of the statute as to ventilation and lighting had been sufficiently complied with.
The section does not require that there should be any open space upon more than one side of a proposed building, provided that all the rooms in it have windows which look out upon some open space which satisfies the requirements of the statute.
When all the rooms are each provided with a door, a chimney, and a window opening upon a space which satisfies the requirements of the statute, the Dean of Guild is not entitled to refuse a lining upon the ground that, looking to the character of the locality, of the proposed building, and of the buildings already erected upon the proprietor’s ground, and to the class of tenants to be expected, the arrangements made are not such as in fact to secure the adequate lighting and ventilation of the rooms.
References: [1900] SLR 37 – 466
Links: Bailii
Jurisdiction: Scotland
Last Update: 23 September 2020; Ref: scu.611704 br>