SOLDIERS, HOUSES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17688, 28 July 1919, Page 6

SOLDIERS , HOUSES

HUGE FEDERAL SCHEME. THE POLICY OUTLENTED. Australia, has already undertaken tho construction of ships in its own dockyards. Aovv it has undertaken another contract— tho construction of 100,000 houses in ali parts of the commonwealth (says the Sydney Sun). J J Jjjo comnioiiwoalth. has calculated that 100,000 now homes aro wanted in Austral All sorts of people want them, liio returned soldier, coming back with his Anzao bride, or marrying his own girl, or looking after his mother, will wajnt a house to live in. There are two courses open to him. Ho can buy a house from someone else, or he can build one for himself. But by buying a house he dispossesses tho vendor, who has to buy another elsewhere, tho vendor of which lias again to provide himself with a home. A new house has to go up whatever happens. So why not let the returned soldier have tho new house, tho commonwealth says, making it easy for him to get it? To this end the War Service Homes scheme has been drawn up. Amy returned soldier who is married, or intends to marry, or who has dependents for whom it is necessary for him to maintain a homo, can be an applicant. He lias seven choices. But there are only two that will be exercised to any extent —(1) ho can apply for an advance to erect a honso on land ho already owns, or (2) ho,«un apply for a home on the rentpurchase system. Already it is said that in New South Wales alone over 3000 applications have been received by the new department. And so far as can be judged from the returned soldiers questioned, most of the applications are for advances to build homes on land they already own, or hope to own before long.

APPLICATIONS BEING P.ECEIVED. All that is hoing done with, the applications at present is to receive them. As soon as the organisation gets going the qualifications of the applicants will be examised, as far as their military records go. But that is a preliminary step. If tho soldier js going to. get his homo and the country's finances safeguarded, the next thing is to see that he has a title to tho land on which he proposes to build a house. This tho Commonwealth Bank has undertaken to do. Its legal staff will make all investigations and searches, and on its certificate the advance •will be authorised. Now comes the erection of the house. Here the soldier has two choices. Ho can arrange to build the house himself, tho Housing Commission advancing the money for the builder, or he can psk the commission to build it for him. The first has nothing unusual about it. As the building progresses, the builder will bo paid for work done, after the soldier has

given a mortgage over tho property. CHEAP TIMBER. But, perhaps, though the usual way in ordinary circumstances, this method will not always be favoured by the department. Its officers are already certain, that they can Dot only undertake the building of a house for tho soldier, but can do it more cheaply. "■We have already secured supplies of building- timber," says Lieutenant-colonel Walker, eommiVfaoher of the new scheme " And at the prices we are paying for it we can put up a house cheaper, I think.

than any private contractor. At present I am not permitted to say where we have got the timber from, but we have it secured all right." But it takes more tilings than wood to build a house—there aro bricks, iron, slate, or tiles, and, above all, labour. Then there is the question of supervision. Supposing, at one time, the Oommisioner had

, building 5000 houses—surely no absurd ', figure;—in different parts of Australia, who j is going to supervise the selection of the , materials and the construction? Australia , is, a. big place, and it will take more than . one foreman to do it Has the Common- • wealth Bank got at its disposal in any and , erery part of the commonwealth a building expert? : TENANCY SCHEME. s Still, from the success that has attended • tho State Savings Bank scheme of advances i towards tie building and acquisition of I private homes, there seems no cause to , cavil at the system of letting the soldier ! build the home himself after getting. an , advance for. its construction. Especially i with the organisation of the Commonwealth ; Bank behind the scheme. One of the draw- , backs to the present State scheme is that . an advance cannot be recommended where the land is anyway distant from the nearest branch of the Savings Bank. But wi& the , new common-wealth scheme there will be no suoh disadvantage. Advances will be . made wherever the land is, provided all ( other conditions are fulfilled. The rent-purchase system will enable an . applicant to obtain a house and land from the Commission as a weekly tenant at a ( rent based on the cost of the house, with 5 per cent, interest. Under this system i Provided the instalments are paid, the house . will in time become the tenant's property. s ONLY LIMITATION. No advance, however, either for building ' or acquisition of a house, will be mado for » more than £700, and it cannot be for more • than 90 per cent, of the value of the pro- > perty. With brick, stone, and concrete '■ buildings o7 years will be allowed to rc-pav > the advance. ■ L " Widows and dependent mothers of Aus- ' tralian soldiers who have died on service : can also be applicants under the scheme So can a nurse whose mother or other 3 relative is dependent on her