People came to the area from all over the country, looking for work. However, jobs were often seasonal or casual, which meant that people were only paid when work was available, and as a result people could not afford decent housing. Builders knew that they would never be able to charge high rents, so they built their houses quickly and cheaply, often without proper facilities such as bathrooms and toilets. As Alfred Dickens discovered in 1855, housing and living conditions in Canning Town were very bad.