reduced when the dwelling became in disrepair. Eight per cent of the net cost of any improvement (i.e. after deducting the amount of any grant received by the landlord) for works completed after 5 July 1957 could be added to the rent. The Act gave the Minister power for future rent control by order requiring the affirmative resolution of each House of Parliament. In the late 1950s and early 1960s there were many newspaper reports of landlords victimising their (controlled) tenants to force them out of their homes. The new word "Rachmanism" (after Peter Rachman, a property owner who was alleged to be responsible for many of these cruel activities) was introduced into the language. Suspension of possession orders The Landlord and Tenant (Temporary Provisions) Act 1958 prohibited the recovery of possession except by legal proceedings of certain dwelling houses released from control by Section 11(1) of the Rent Act 1957. It also suspended for a limited period the execution of any order made for possession for those still remaining in their homes on 1 August 1958, by postponing the effect of any earlier order for possession. lt regulated the rent payable pending recovery of possession (to twice the 1956 gross value, plus rates, and for services and furniture unless the contractual rent previously payable was higher). It made it an offence to recover possession other than by proceedings in court and to withhold services or furniture to which the tenant was entitled. Certain grounds were provided whereby a landlord could try to satisfy the court that an order for possession should subsequently be granted. Excessive payments for furniture The Landlord and Tenant (Furniture and Fittings) Act 1959, which came into force on 29 July 1959 prohibited landlords from requiring excessive payments for furniture, fittings, and other articles as a condition of the grant, renewal, continuance, or assignment of tenancies of dwellings. Such payments were an attempt to find a way round the prohibition to require a premium in the Landlord and Tenant (Rent Control) Act 1949. Powers of inspection Offenders attempting to obtain from prospective tenants excessive amounts for furniture and fittings were liable to be punished by a fine not exceeding £100. Local authorities were given powers to inspect dwellings where they suspected an offence had been committed. Private street works made under the Highways Act 1959, which updated earlier provisions in the Public Health Act 1875 and