CHEAPER HOUSES

Evening Star, Issue 19588, 21 June 1927, Page 2

CHEAPER HOUSES

m J. Y. LOVE’S SUGGESTIONS During the Dunedin sitting of the Compensation Court, Mr James Y. Love, of the Lovo Construction Company, rather surprised His Honor, Sir Justice Reed, by claiming that it would be possible to build cottages to let for 10s per week His Honor said he had beard it stated that this could not be done. Mr Love reaffirmed his opinion, but was careful to add that he did not mean that such houses could ■ be built right in the city areas where land values, of course, would make such a proposition hopeless. Mr Love believed _ that most bousing schemes have failed _to grapple with the problem of providing sanitary dwellings for those who cannot afford much more than 10s to 15s per week. These people were forced to live in what are nothing better than mere_ shacks, most of which were erected in the period , when bathrooms were still regarded ns luxuries for tho few. He believes that two and three-roomed dwellings, with a bathroom and modern sanitary arrangements, could bo built for a fairly modest sum, and even though everything were of the cheapest they would be infinitely better than the houses which hundreds of people are condemned to live in at the present time. “ On broad principles 1 know there are serious objections to my proposal, as there would inevitably be a great outcry against ‘jerry-built” .houses,”he said, “but the problem has to be faced, that there are many people who, cannot afford to pay more than 10s per week rent. How is it possible to provide for them unless some effort is made to build much cheaper houses' than are being built at present? Poor people ought to have a chance of obtaining decent houses as well as anyone else. Take them away from tho congested city areas and they will makebetter citizens. During the war hundreds of houses were broken up, one man I know being responsible for razing over 100, and he wa's by no means the biggest ‘ house-breaker.’ There was no demand for the old places, because so many cheap new ones came on to the market. Tho same would happen again if a largo number of rea-sonably-priced places were made available.”

Mr Love commended the Hutt Valley scheme, which had been responsible for transferring scores of hard-working people from, what were practically slum areas to.much more healthy surroundings. The deposits were as low as 6s 6d, and, except in one or two instances, most of them were under £75, the repayments ranging up to 36s 6d per week. “It is plain, he added, “that it is not much use building any ( more four toe six-roomed dwellings ' for k n time, because there is a big surplus.The housing problem will ■> be much nearer a solution than it is now if efforts are concentrated on providing modest but cosy and sanitary places for those who could never buy a house under present conditions.”