A byelaw terraced house is a type of dwelling built to comply with the Public Health Act 1875 (38 & 39 Vict. c. 55). It is a type of British terraced house at the opposite end of the social scale from the aristocratic townhouse but a marked improvement on the pre-regulation house built as cheap accommodation for the urban poor of the Industrial Revolution. The term usually refers to houses built between 1875 and 1918.
The 1875 act imposed a duty on local authorities to regulate housing by the use of byelaws, and subsequently all byelaw terraced housing was required to have its own toilet. At first a "privy" or outhouse was built in the yard behind the house, relying on a pail closet system, with access for the municipal collection of the night soil. As universal town sewerage advanced, flush toilets (water closets) were built but often still outside the house. The houses had to meet minimum standards of build quality, ventilation, sanitation and population density.[1]
Despite a century of slum clearances, byelaw terraced houses made up over 15% of the United Kingdom's housing stock in 2011.[1]
- ^ a b Rosenfeld, Allen & Okoro 2011, p. 258.