The Dominion. TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 1937. STATE HOUSING

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 174, 20 April 1937, Page 8

The Dominion. TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 1937. STATE HOUSING

In a news article yesterday it was stated that building costs under the State housing scheme, notwithstanding all-round increases in wages and prices, were working out at rather less than fl per fo> , and that the rent of a four-roomed house would be about 2b/- a Meek. From the worker’s point of view that is not cheap housmfpthough it mav be cheaper than present rates for houses of the same cl* . The Government originally had the idea that it would be orovide homes for workers at rents not exceeding 16/- a Meek, but increased building costs, the result of industrial legislation, put such low rentals out of the question. On present prospects the renpayer of a State house at 25/- a week may conceivably be: woise oVthan the owner of a home financed by the State Advances Depa ment on terms involving no greater drain on his income, because the latter has an equity in his property which is increasing in value year y 5 The Government may have an answer to this. It should be prepared, in fact, to give the public the fullest information concerning its housing schemes. On this subject it has been extraor man y reticent, and its reluctance to give information has given ri se ° considerable and quite unnecessary misunderstanding the. public has an idea that the schemes are being financed by the Reserve Ban - at a low rate of interest. It is entitled to know how much has been borrowed from this source, and at what interest rate. Where does the Bank get the money ? How is it protected against possible losses under the scheme? What is the basis of repayment? That there will be losses is certain, because in times of depression the strain of keeping up to date with rents at the figure stated will be beyond the capacity of the wage-earner, with the not unlikely result of large numbers of workers either clamouring for reduced rentals or living in State houses rent free. Furthermore, rates and _ insurance will be a State liability, to be carried all through irrespective of losses. In the absence of full information on the. subject it is not surprising that doubts and apprehensions should arise. The Government should give the public a clear view of the fabric of the whole scheme. At present it rests under suspicion of pursuing an ideal more Socialistic than practical. It is discouraging private enterprise m housing, and in doing so piling up additional housing responsibilities Jor the State.