DWELLINGS OF THE DOMINION

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 19 February 1931, Page 12

DWELLINGS OF THE DOMINION

INTEREST FIGURES Statistics relating to the dwellings of New Zealand, obtained from a questionnaire accompanying the 1926 census schedule, have just been published, and provide much interesting information, comments the Christchurch “Times.” The most significant feature in the section dealing with the nature of dwellings is the great increase in the number of occupied flats or apartments, an increase of 15 per cent, between 1926 and 1921, and one of 28 -per cent, between 1921 and 1926. Of the 300,000 dwellings in the Dominion recorded in the last census, 12,815 were flats or* apartments, and of these 1000 were in blocks originally designed and conconstructed as such. These figures, of course, represent the position nearly five years ago, and as residence in flats is a comparatively recent movement it may be taken that the number has been materially added to in recent years. The section dealing with the construction material of private dwellings is of particular interest. Of the total 300,000, there were 268,815 dwellings built of wood, or nine out of every ten in the, Dominion, but it is pointed out that the use of concrete and brick is rapidly extending as shown by an increase of 3405 brick houses, equal to 40 per cent, in the five years 1921-1926. and an increase of 2696 concrete houses, equal to 95 per cent. Tho position as revealed by the section dealing with rooms and occupants is not altogether satisfactory. The recognised standard demanded by health and decency is one and a half persons to a room, but the figures show that in New Zealand, in some 20,625 dwellings, 153,484 occupants, or 12.87 of the total population, are living in conditions which do not conform to this standard.