HOUSING IN CITY

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 25086, 27 December 1944, Page 6

HOUSING IN CITY

NEED FOE NEW BY-LAW

COMMITTEE'S OBJECTIVES

The chairman, of the City Council's Housing Committee, Mr H. P. Burton, emphasised yesterday that the council's j i-oposcd new by-law was not restrictive in intention, except as it set minimum standards, and, in fact, over the past three months the council had adopted recommendations of the city engineer which were designed to allow a great deal of modification in structural practices.

The by-law, said Mr Burton, marked tho culmination of tho council's efforts to bring physical standards for the city's houses under full and adequato control and so ensure that satisfactory housing requirements would be established for the people both in the present and in the future.

Underlining the need for the by-law had been the wholesale conversion ol houses into apartments and roominghouses, generally without authority and contrary to the existing by-laws. Although much of this conversion had met a real need by giving shelter to many of the city's population, considerations of duty, decency and health could not permit tho resulting conditions to provail any longer. Need to Improve Health The council had recently received 900 applications for accommodation at the Western Springs transit camp from people who were living in distressing and difficult circumstances. The real lesson of the council's experience on this occasion had been the general application of tho housing problem to every local body governing the city and suburbs, from Takapuna to Henderson, and from Onehunga to Otahuhu. Emphasis should also lie placed, said Mr Burton, upon the manner in which the transit camp experiment had raised the health of the families who had been accommodated there. The Housing Committee was carefully compiling records which should astound the city, for they clearly showed that even minimum standards of housing—in many cases the transit camp had raised the standards to which the persons concerned were accustomed —resulted in an almost immediate physical improvement.

"Although a great deal has been accomplished in Auckland to clean up undesirable residential units," said Mr Burton, "there has never been a clearcut power enabling the council to enforce a physical residential standard. The proposed by-law will fill this gap. Example of Congestion "An illustration of a glaring case of congestion, of a type which will not be possible when the by-law becomes operative, is' provided by a block of five houses in the city. They are so closely built as almost to be touching one another. Every one of the houses is sorved by a yard space of Oft by Oft, and they house no fewer than 34 people, one of the houses having as many as 11 occupants.

"The last comprehensive housing survey conducted by the council was in 1937. The area surveyed comprised about 2000 acres, or nearly 11 per cent of the council's territorial district, and within it almost one-half of the city's inhabitants were housed. The number of dwelling houses surveyed was 10,098. containing 14,542 separate housekeeping units.

"Of the 10,698 houses 6999 were physically sound; 2795 were physically unsatisfactory, but could be brought up to standard by carrying out repairs at reasonable expense; 786 were physically unsatisfactory, repair wag impracticable and the houses were recommended for demolition; and 118 were detached outhouses \ised as dwellings, contrary to the by-laws. t Inadequate Facilities

"Thus, according to the standard defined for the purpose of the survey, about one-third were structurally unsatisfactory and 7 1-3 per cent were deemed to be beyond repair. Of the 14,542 separate housekeeping units, 7649, or 52.5 per cent, were satisfactory; 3337, or 22.8 per cent, were only partly satisfactory; and 3546, or 24.7 per cent, were unsatisfactory. "One phase of the inquiry sought to discover how far the standard of kitchens, bathrooms and other appurtenances was satisfactory. The survey showed that 9867, or 62.8 per cent, were satisfactory, and that 4675 units, or 32.2 per cent, were unsatisfactory. It was shown that 11,000 persons were using these facilities over and above the number for which they were sufficient. In respect to sleeping accommodation, it was revealed that 2027 units were unsatisfactory, and that more than 3000 persons were using them over and above the number for which they were sufficient.

Position Worse Today "With the further deterioration which has taken place since 1937," said Mr Burton, "and having regard also for the wartime influx of population to Auckland, the position today must be considerably worse than it was in 1937. The council's Housing Committee is, therefore, throwing down a challenge to tho city. The 1937 survey will bo vigorously followed up; the programme will ho fulfilled by an entirely new department controlled by a recently appointed inspector; a ten-year plan will form the basis of operation, and preliminary work will bo carried out before the passing of the new by-law." RECORD SAVINGS NEW YORK, Dec. 25 The American people's war-time savings have reached a record point of 100,000 million dollars. Leading the form of savings are war bonds, with three out of five Americans owning at least one. The total of these is 36,883 millions. Life insurance is next as a savings medium, accounting for 33,049 million dollars, in which about 50 per cent of the population shares.