HOUSING BILL

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 15, 13 October 1919, Page 6

HOUSING BILL

EXPLANATION OF SCHEMA

WORKERS' DWELLINGS PLAN

'•FOLLOWED

INCOME LIMIT INCREASED

■ ' The Housing Bill has at length mado its appearance. As already announced, the Bill is intended to make possible an ambitions-scheme of construction of houses by the. Government and local authorities. . The clauses providing for administratiM"6f the'-Act make it quite clear that . n'o' grSkt'departure ia to 'be made from present arrangements for the building of workers' dwellings under ..cxisfcin^ lation. There-is to be ft superintendent . to. oontrol' the activities, a deputy su})Printondent, and a board, to be called a housing board, but it is also provided that the present Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent of Workers Dwellings and tho present Workers Dwellings Board are to administer this Act. Power is asked for to appoint such additional officers as rhayfroni time to time be found necessary^ It-is, proposed that tho Governor-Gen-'eral may from time to time by proclamation set apart for the purposed of the housing schemo any Crown land not - specially reserved for any other purpose, or any land required under the Land for Settlement/! Aot. So also tho board may purchase any lands with the approval of'the - Minister or may purchase also dwellings. And also tho board may, with , the approval of . the . Minister, cnuse dwellings to bo erected on any land acquired or set apart for housing purposes. Dwellings are to bo disposed of by the board under sale or lease! The income ■limit applicable to persons . acquiring houses under this part of the Act is fixed . at <£225 per annum/ but if a man has . more than 'fcvro 'children or other depen- ■ dants his.limih is extended by:,£2o in : respect of <ivery such child or dependant in excess of two. For the purposes of reckoning children may bo counted ■while of less than sixteen years of ago, . and the wife or husband is not to be counted as a dependant. The maximum income of an applicant from all, sources must not exceed <£305 per annum. ... it is provided that tho cost -of any dwelling to be disposed of under this part of the Act shall not exceed .in the ease of a wooden house, arid <£350 in any other case. A deposit of ,£lO is to be required of tho purchaser, and the. whole purchase money has to be repaid ~ over a period of- years. Interest is to be at the rate of 5i per cent., subject to a reduction by one-half per cent.' for , 'prompt payment. An agreement to purchase, may be cancelled by the board if . the purchaser makes default. No dwelling acquired under this part of the Act may be disposed.of without the.consent of the board, and if- the prospective buyer is a person not qualified under the Act to benefit by. the scheme, :the board must Tefer tho application to the Minister. Houses may be let by the board on a monthly tenancy, or for any shorter term. Power is to be given to the board / to advance to the' purchaser of any dwolling sums not exceeding a total of ■£100 *?.- any case for fencing, draining,' ' cultivation, or the general improvement " ti it. appurtenant to the building." For the purposes of this part of the Act (providing only for the erection and sale- of houses by the Government through the Housing Board) provision is mac e for the borrowing of £750.000- an- ; nually. ' Power is taken to make regulations for certain obvious purposes. Part 2 of the Bill deals with the proposals for tho establishment of special -.settlements for Public Servants. Any nicorporated. society of officers in the Public Service may make application to the Minister, for- tho approval' of a scheme for the formation" of a village settlement or a garden suburb. If the land required As Crown land it .may be 6et,apart for : tho scheme, and if it ,is : ptiv.ate..land the Government may piir,'.chase it. .'Tihere.is no provision tor the °f; dwellings by the Stato tinder ■ tyjs,Genome, but an advanco -may be ■ obtained .by the purchaser of any holding up to the amount of SO per cent, of the value of-his subdivision. ; Foi the purposes .of'this, part of die/Aot the 'proposal is that <£250,000 may* !*© borrowed • annually. ' Part 3 of tho Act is that ucaling with loans to employers who may desire to' erect houses to persons* in tnsir employ. - The only provision against-the rxploitn- • the Stato tinder thig section is that in'no case shall tho advance to be .... ?} ven exceed 75 per cent, of "tho '-like of tile security l offered. . The borrowing proposal under this section is for .£250,000. ' , . = i .The,,t^o.other parts of the Bill -elate to ,the schemo for',the erection - of work.'ers dwellings, by local bodies, and for . the purposes of this schome, harbour boards. are to be considered to tte local bodies. •, There is one restriction upon of harbour boards, huwover. that'-they are to be allowed to build . honses onlj r for their own permanent "employees. , Local bodies aro to be empowered to borrow from the State Advances Office for the pvpose of erecting workers' dwellings, ' but thero 'is no restriction that these '' dwellings may j?e-jdisposed only to employees of tho| local body concerned. For this part of ■ the schemo it is proposed to borrow •iIjOOOjCOO ppr annum.