HOUSING PROVISION

Greymouth Evening Star, 18 June 1936, Page 5

HOUSING PROVISION

GOVT’S AID TO WORKERS.

[per press association.] WELLINGTON. June 17. The Government’s housing scheme which Cabinet hr..; been further con sidering since the adjournment of Pai' ■liament. involves provisions for rent ed houses, as well as facilities lot those wishing to own their own dwel lings, according to a statement made by the Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. M. J Savage, to-day. He said that local bod ies would be asked to. co-operate in the way of building or renting houses. Dealing with th? matter of renting houses, Mr. Savage said that many men had lost their savings through putting down deposits on their homes. When a reactionary Government got into power, they found that everything had been taken away from them, because they had invested their savings in houses when they had been earning decent wages. They had been under the impression that the position would continue. Then the depression came along. Wages were reduced by Acts of Parliament, and as these people were unable to meet payments to the mortgagees, they lost their properties. Mr. Savage said that the local bodies would receive assistance in their housing schemes. The Government’s view of the problem was that, when it loaned money to a worker to build a home, its job was to see that his income was maintained, and that the worker was enabled to meet, his’liabilities to the Crown or to a private mortgagee. PROGRESS IN BRITAIN [BRITISH OFFICIAL WIRELESS] RUGBY. June 16. The Minister of Health speaking at Winchester on national housing, made the announcement that the three million mark in the number of new houses erected since the end of the war in 1918 had now been passed. For the half-year ended March 21, 174,609 houses had been built, the output exceeding by 5000 any previous six months on record. He drew attention to the gratifying feature in the recent building activity, namely increasing proportion of houses built for people of moderate means. Houses built for letting were being erected at the rate of 120,000 yearly, and houses built, with a rateable value not exceeding £l3, were being erected at the rate of 160,000 yearly, undoubtedly the largest output of this class of house in the country’s history.