B—l3

(b) Old Rental Houses. —The Corporation lias 1,149 houses under its control which were erected prior to 1935 or have been acquired for housing purposes. These houses are let to tenants in a similar manner to that operating for new houses. The Corporation has continued to purchase, as opportunity offers, houses which are suitable for occupation by large families or have other features which are suited to the needs of other types of applicants. In addition, the Corporation also continues to co-operate with the Public Service Commission in the operation of a Housing Bureau established at the office of the Commission. This Bureau has rendered considerable assistance to public servants on transfer, either in the direction of exchange of tenancies between officers transferred to or from the various towns throughout the Dominion, or in selected cases the Corporation has been able to make finance available to enable some officers to acquire suitable properties. (c) Transit Housing.—The Transit Housing scheme previously established as a means of providing temporary accommodation for families who have an urgent need for better housing, but who are not immediately in line for the allocation of a permanent tenancy, continues to operate through local authorities with Government assistance, and transit housing camps have been established in many places throughout the Dominion. These schemes have made a worth-while contribution in easing the housing situation, and, on the whole, the schemes are working satisfactorily. It is worth recording that as at the 31st March, 1948, nearly 800 transit units were occupied by families. In general, it can be said that the aim is to place selected tenants in these temporary quarters and make provision for permanent tenancies in the order of priority to which the applicants would normally be entitled, but there are some few cases where the local authority has decided to take full responsibility for the selection of tenants for the transit camps, and in such cases the provision of permanent tenancies is arranged on a different basis. As at the 31st March, 1948, the number of applicants who were first allocated tenancies in transit camps, and who were subsequently allotted permanent accommodation, approximated 950. (d) Allocation of State Rental Houses to Ex-servicemen. —It is still Government policy to set aside not less than 50 per cent, of all permanent housing units which become available for letting to eligible ex-servicemen. The selection of ex-servicemen tenants is the responsibility of the local Rehabilitation Committees in the various towns and cities where State houses are available. Future Requirements Although, for reasons already stated, there has not been an increase in the number of unsatisfied applications for the year under review, it is true to say that the applications still on record represent a very formidable total, but there is no reason to suppose that the housing condition of all these applicants is totally unsatisfactory. . In past years, when considering future housing requirements, it has been suggested that if it were possible to have 25,000 new units provided over a short period of years this would have the effect of overcoming in a very large measure the difficulties, which are now being experienced by so many families who have not been able to make provision for housing from their own resources. There does not appear to be any reason why this figure should be revised at this stage, although it would not be right to give the impression that there is a shortage only of 25,000 houses, but the provision of this number would certainly go a long way towards relieving the pressure caused, by those families whose living conditions cannot be regarded as being in accord with modern requirements. It is pleasing to record that many more houses are being built by private individuals, and this will, in itself, result in releasing for occupation by other families existing accommodation which, if not ideal, will nevertheless, in the long run, assist in meeting the most urgent needs.

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