MUNICIPAL HOUSING.

Shannon News, 2 October 1923, Page 3

MUNICIPAL HOUSING.

WAIPUKURAtf' SCHEME.

The acute shortage of houses all over New Zealand .during the f ast lew years has led to the introduction ol many schemes lor house-huUdmt to overcome the difficulty. The Shannon Borough Council is to he commended for having grappled in a . practical \vay with this problem and made a beginning to supply dwellings; at as. reasonable a price as possible. Local residents will be interested in a successful scheme inaugurated by the Waipukurau. Borough Council. Waipukurau is only a small Hawkes Bay borough, a little bigger than Shannon, with a population of about 1400 persons, but it possesses some energetic, live citizens, as shown by the fact that it has recently installed a complete sanitary drainage system, costing £23,000. The borough has a splendid water s-itvice, electric light and power, and a modern municipal theatre, with four shops, to cost £14,000, is about, to be erected in the town. Among its activities, the Waipukurau Borough Council qmharked on a house-building scheme, which has proyed so successful a venture that we give herewith some details that will doubtless prove of interest to our readers. The Council borrowed £15,000 from the Government Advances Department, with which it erected twenty houses in the borough. These have been erected, and all are occupied by satisfied people. In fact the scheme was so successful, right, from the .very beginning, that the Council decided to extend it, and a further £SOOO was borrowed, with which seven, more houses have just been, completed, and also occupied. . Thus Waipukurau has erected twenty-seven buildings of superior design., and found provision for a like number of families, who now hay|e the stisfaction of being housed in homes that are costing them less' than the average rental, although their instalments include payment of principal and interest together. The Waipukurau scheme 'embraces some features which are. a distinct improvement. on those adopted in seme other icentr’es. For instance, the houses are erected all over the borough, jwherever the applicant has a section”, one of the conditions being that applicants must own a freehold section within the borough, which is transferred to the Council, at , the Council’s expense. Then the buildings are nof, of uniform design, as is often the case in such schemes, but the plans and specifications are drawn, to suit the purchaser’s desires, and it is. therefore impossible, .when traversing the borough, to say which is a borough house and which is not. Briefly, some of the most important conditions governing the scheme are: The maximum amount advanced! by the. Council is £7OO (the amount was at first but has been reduced, owing to the cost falling). Purchaser enters into an agreement for sale and purchase, prepared by the borough solicitor at his expense, agreeing to repay principal and interest monthly, at, the rate of £7 per cent, per anum (5 per cent, interest and 2 per cent, sinking fund) for 25J years. Tenants cannot let or sell within five .years, without the consent of the. Council. Applicant submits his own plans and specifications of proposed house, which a committee of the Council must approve. The Council calls lor tenders. If the tender accepted exceeds the amount advanced by the Council, 'applicant must, pay the difference, or reduce the job to amount of grant.

This house building 'scheme has given the town a considerable uplift, to say nothing of an excellent advertisement, and has enabled many people to purchase) their own homes on exceedingly generous, terms, who would otherwise have to rent, indifferent houses, probably at higher rates, and put up with all the disadvantages of the hrent/al system. The conditions attaching to such a scheme give, tlhe Council an ample margin. of security, with little chance of any possible loss.