PRIVATE BUILDING

Grey River Argus, 22 May 1941, Page 8

PRIVATE BUILDING

FILLIP UNDER LABOUR. Critics of the Government’s policy of building State rental houses have tried to make the point that it has tended to discourage private building of homes. The fallacy of this argument is proved by the facts given in the accompanying article which has been specially written for “The Standard” by the Minister of Housing, the Hon. H. T. Armstrong. Since the Labour Government took office in 1935 it has made an unceasing effort to overcome the acute housing shortage that had arisen largely through the almost complete cessation of building during the previous four or five yearsu

It was obvious that private enterprise could not immediately undertake the whole responsibility of meeting the deficit, and the Government accordingly established the Housing Construction branch of the State Advances Corporation for the purpose of erecting houses in the cities and all boroughs and townships where the need was greatest. Parallel with this scheme of providing State rental houses, arrangements were made for the State Advances Corporation to inaugurate a scheme of special building loans with a view to encouraging and assisting members of the public in purchasing sections and erecting houses for themselves.

As soon as a reasonable degree of confidence was established, other lending institutions as well as private investors began to offer loans on reasonably attractive terms, and the result has been that for the last few years the building tradO has been working to capacity. In fact, at certain stages there has been difficulty in obtaining tenders in some localities owing either to shortage of labour or lack of essential materials. The most recent report that I have received shows that 10,106 State rental houses have already been completed, and delivered to the State Advances Corporation for letting, and there are still some thousands under construction. BUILDING LOANS. We are now being criticised in regard to our State housing scheme because it is claimed by our opponents that our operations in this direction have retarded the progress that would otherwise have been made by private building, but this obviously cannot be sustained, as statistics which have been obtained from the cities a'nd larger boroughs throughout the Dominion indicate

that there is a large amount of building still going on, notwithstanding the somewhat difficult conditions which exist at present.

Figures obtained regarding building permits issued only by cities and the larger boroughs for the 12 months ended December 31, 1940, indicate that over 6500 permits were issued in the areas concerned, whereas the State housing figures included therein amount to approximately 3500. The total of 6500 does not of course, include any of the houses being erected in the smaller townships dr counties, which in the aggregate would no doubt amount to a considerable number.

The number of building loans granted by the State Advances Corporation during the last few years is as under: —

Year ended March 31, 1939 2120 Year ended March 31, 1940 1617 For 12 months ended Dec. 31, 1940 944

The last-mentioned figure is taken for the December period in order to give a comparison with the building permits referred to above. Although there is naturally a tendency on the part of the public to be somewhat more conservative during the present unsettled conditions, there is still quite a keen demand for ' special building loans, and the State Advances Corporation is offering attractive terms to applicants who are in a position to make a reasonable cash deposit towards the cost of the section and the dwelling. It is, of course, necessary to assess values both in regard to what might be considered a normal selling and rental value, but subject to these factors it is the board’s policy co assist borrowers to the fullest possible extent. It seems clear also that quite apart from the State lending institutions there are funds available for loans on residential property through building societies, insurance companies and other private sources. RURAL HOUSING. In addition to granting assistance for the erection of houses in urban areas, the State Advances Corporation has made loan money available to farmers for the purpose of providing new houses and improving existing dwellings. The passing of the Rural Housing Act, 1939, provided another source from which the farming community could obtain financial assistance for similar purposes, and it is apparent from the activity that has developed under this scheme that many farm-, ers will benefit from the new. legls-| lation. I

To date 58 county councils have applied for loans, aggregating £620,-

750. We have information showing that not less than 200 houses have already been commenced under this scheme, and county councils have a considerable number of applications still under consideration.

The provision of temporary accommodation on farms for the purpose of overcoming labour difficulties arising fropi the present war situation has been arranged for under another scheme, whereby Public Works hutments are provided on very moderate terms. Many farmers have taken advantage of this scheme, and to date orders have been placed with the Public Works Department for 884 huts. It is not intended that these structures should become permanent, but fhey will fill an urgent need until such time as permanent accommodation can oe provided or the farmer is again able to obtain the services of single men. The Government’s concern is and has always been to see that a sufficient number of houses is provided as soon as this can possibly be accomplished, and we prefer to see the building undertaken by private owners rather than that everyone should rely on the State rental system to meet their requirements. Our experience in regard to the State rental scheme shows that there is a large section of the public which for various reasons is unable to provide permanent residential accommodation for itself, and I am sorry to say that we have not yet been able in the larger cities to provide more than a small proportion of these people with reasonable accommodation.