City Council slates housing-loan curb

Press, 11 August 1980, Page 24

City Council slates housing-loan curb

A Government curb on the number of housing improvements loans has been criticised at a meeting of the Christchurch City Councils town-planning committee. The committee will write to the Minister of Housing (Mr Quigley), expressing its displeasure. “The curb is detrimental to the urban renovation plan for Christchurch,” said Cr D. J. Rowlands. “Many will not be eligible for the loan, because they earn toe much, arid those in need of the improvements will not be able to afford it,” he said. Persons earning more than $230 a week, plus $lO per child, will not be eligible for the loan. However, preference may be accorded to those who already have their main finance with the Housing Corporation, irrespective of the income limit. “We do not know how long this curb will be in force,” Cr Rowlands said. “This stop-go policy is hopeless for persons planning home improvements.” “It is, an additional inducement for skilled builders to go overseas,” said Cr Mollie Clark. “I know of many persons gearing them-

i selves for home improve- ■ ments and having the rug pulled from under their feet.” The Master Builders’ Federation has also- criticised : the Housing Corporation’s move. The chairman of the Federation’s housing committee said the decision was I another in a series of rapid changes in Government housing finance policy which made it extremely difficult : for builders to plan ahead, i .Mr C. J. Trask, of Has- ' tings, said many builders had been cautious about gearing themselves to the home improvement market in the first place but had been encouraged by the Government. However, because the corporation home improvements allocation had been seriously depleted in little more than the first four months of the year, they would now face a virtual drought of work from this sector for the rest of the year. In spite of Government talk of the need to involve the private sector in, housing finance, the Government had made no move to ensure this happened, Mr Trask said.