Need seen for more co-operation

Press, 16 September 1976, Page 21

Need seen for more co-operation

Improved low-cost housing will not solve the housing problem, says the report. Many options are needed alongside improved conventional housing. Accepted variations of housing include: a. Free standing lowcost houses. b. A unit or town house on a small site suitable for families who are away often.

c. The build-it-yourself house.

d. The finish-it-yourself house.

e. The basic or parthouse to be added to as the family increases, or as it can be afforded. Government and local authority co-operation would be essential for many of these variations to succeed and experiments in the variation would be essential, says the report. Major housing disappointments suffered by the survey households could be summed up as: 1. Only one living spabe ; In houses with a

combined kitchen-dining space the area was too small and too tight to function as a satisfactory second living space. 2. Rooms were designed for one function only — children's bedrooms could be used only for sleeping.

3. Access to rooms was by minimum-sized hallways and passages. In some houses these were so tight that wall coverings were damaged during normal use. 4. The outside could be reached only from front and back doors, although some houses had French doors outside from the lounge. A third option is better use of existing housing stock. The survey found a "desperate need” for easier financing of used houses to improve the use of total housing stock. - ’ There is a great variety in existing housing stock i.e. location, type of house, age and condition, and access to facilities. This variety and choice is, says the report, denied to

most first-home owners because of total emphasis on new house loans. New financial arrangements for first-home owners, and for families who have bought houses with child capitilisation and who now need larger houses, are necessary to make better use of existing low-cost house stock, says the report. This would allow larger families access to existing houses and small families access to used low-cost homes.

Fundamental changes in financial arrangements are needed to enable families on average incomes to move to houses more suitable to their needs, says the report. The potential over-supply of low-cost houses would then be available for new, younger, smaller families with appropriate firsthouse loan arrangements.

Lending organisations could be encouraged to finance families wanting to r&ove into older houses

by an extension of the mortgage guarantee system.

Families with little capital, but possible considerable future earnings, could rent or lease with the right of purchase, and their previous rent treated as a deposit. If families should need to move for career reasons within a certain period, the house would be sold back to the lending organisation. Self-build. The provision of a shell house with major plumbing and minimum kitchen fittings would allow many families to complete their house to their choice and financial ability over a period of time, the report suggests. Co - ownership housing. Co-owners become members of a non-profit housing society, established to promote their residential development. Members of the society collectively own the houses they then occupy individually under a tenancy granted by the

society. They do not become individual owners of their houses, but by rent payments acquire an interest in the value of total property held by the society. If a co-owner needs to leave after a period of at least five years, the interest is capitalised in a lump sum payment from the society. A co-owner rent is set at a level sufficient to pay off a mortgage on the non-profit cost of providing the house occupied. The continual emphasis of the low-cost housing market with similar layout and house.design over the last 10 years, while land and building costs have escalated, Jias stifled opportunities for variety, change, and experimentation, says the report.

At the same time, there has been' steadily increasing difficulty in supporting the growing usedhouse market due to decreasing supply of mort«

gage finance from institutional or Government sources.

Low-cost house designs are taken from stock plans builders know will comply with the Housing Corporation criteria within the limits of the current maximum loan, says the report. Each wage or building material price increase brings pressure on the builders to demand new, higher loan limits. There are no financial incentives to search for different solutions to the problem. Every year since the survey houses were built, there has been less housing choice and variety, says the report. Fewer building firms are building more standardised houses. More houses of the same type and cost are built together at one time in one area. Few small or large houses are built, although the potential demand for these continues, the report says. If New Zealand wisl*»

to maintain and improve the quality and size of family housing, it would seem wiser to consider postponement of new house ownership. It would be better to discourage new young families from expecting new houses of right, and better to give greater emphasis to upgrading . existing houses and providing new houses of an improved standard for older families. Such a policy, with appropriate loan arrangements, would encourage much better use of existing housing stock and existing community facilities, and allow a fresh look at the layout and design of New Zealand family housing in line with options quoted earlier.

Until some of these radical changes are made, it is unlikely any proposed housing programme will catch up with the existing growth demand, concludes the report.