HOUSING PROBLEMS

Taranaki Daily News, 23 February 1935, Page 8

HOUSING PROBLEMS

ANALYSIS OF POSITION NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY. SERIOUS PROPORTIONS LIKELY. An analysis of the difficulties of wageearners in securing adequate housing accommodation at a reasonable rental was made by Mr. N. C. Haigh, A.RJ.B.A., assistant building superintendent, Wellington City Corporation, in a paper, “The Housing Problem,” read to the conference of the New Zealand branch of the Royal Sanitary Institute. Mr. t Haigh dealt with all phases of the prob- . lem, and outlined methods by which it . might be overcome. Mr. Haigh said that the Government ’ had been dealing in a serious manner , with farming problems, but housing de- ‘ velopment was one matter which was ; not receiving sufficient attention. There was now a housing problem which, unless effectively dealt with, ' would soon assume serious proportions. 1 The problem touched all sides of na- ' tional life, and its importance from the '• health, moral, social stability and eco- ! nomic standpoints could not be overI stressed. Such a serious view was being ' taken of the problem in other parts of i the world that it was nothing short of , foolishness to ignore it. Social unrest ; had forced the issue in some places where perhaps the health and moral ■ sides did not carry the same weight as they did in this country. THE ESSENTIALS. . • ’C The essentials of good housing were safety, health, suitability, and comfort, amenities, accessibility, security of ten- ; ure, and reasonable rental value. Man used to build to protect himself against the elements and wild animals, and though there were no longer wild ani- • mals to contend with, there were still fires, earthquakes, and diseases. Safety was largely controlled by Act and bylaw, but it was not so much the fault of the by-laws as the failure to enforce them that was responsible for a lot of defective building. In recent years health and housing had received more attention, but it was not enough to carry out the letter of the by-laws and to ignore their spirit; public health .was largely a matter of public education. A great number of houses were built with very little thought for planning and design. Comfort was a matter of £ s. d., but a great deal of comfort could be obtained at the cost of ’a little thought when it was accompanied by knowledge and experience. Briefly, amenities might be defined as all those surroundings which added to the value of the property for the purpose for which it was intended. It was hardly necessary to point out the desirability of being within reasonable distance of the daily work, school, shopping centre, and also of a playground and a social centre. There were many good leasehold systems which offered the necessary security of tenure, without which there could never be that pride and care so essential to the life of a contented community. It was essential that the rental value of housing should be within the means of the people for whom it was intended to provide. Cheaper housing meant more money to spend in other ways, and less overcrowding with all its resultant evils. GROUP HOUSING AND ZONING. After reviewing the present-day position, Mr. Haigh said that if as a means of housing families of limited means typical houses were ruled out on account of high rental values, and blocks of flats as undesirable for the purpose, the task was to provide a suitable type of dwelling at a lower rental value. Although not common in New Zealand, there were other types of dwellings which offered nearly all, and in some cases more, of the advantages and privacy offered by typical New Zealand dwellings. Group housing was the term which probably described most clearly the type to which he referred. The term did not convey the idea of a row of slum houses; in various forms group housing could be treated very attractively, and under the right conditions made a most desirable class of dwelling. The time had arrived when group housing should be encouraged in selected localities. Surroundings made a difference to residential property; and had a moral and physical influence on the lives of the residents. In this respect zoning was one of the principal means of preserving amenities. After all, zoning was only “a place for everything and everything in its place.” Besides providing for all business purposes, shops, schools, parks, etc., a zoning system should provide for various types of dwellings, and fix the permitted density for each. Blocks of flats should be confined to limited areas in the city. Then would come smaller flats, group housing, and, lastly, but by far the biggest group, single family dwellings.

RENTAL VALUES. Mr. Haigh said that practically the whole problem of housing hinged on rental values. Could people be housed at a rent that they could afford to pay in suitable dwellings without loss to the owners of the property or a subsidy from the State? Under present conditions and under the system of ownership, finance, and building, the thing was impossible. Private enterprise would build for those who could afford to pay, but who was going to build dwellings for lower-paid citizens who could not afford the rental value? There appeared, to be only two ways of dealing with the problem: (1) By subsidy; (2) by lowering the rental value. There was more scope for lowering rental values in New Zealand than there was in England, and all means of doing that should be carefully investigated before a subsidy was considered. Building costs were higher in New Zealand, but the ratio of rent to average wages should not vary much. The system of individual ownership and the effect it had on speculation, development, building, and finance was almost entirely responsible for high rental values. By whom then, in the interest of the communities and the State, should the work of housing and development be undertaken? By the State, municipal bodies, building societies, or public utility societies? The Government need not commit itself to the carrying out of any scheme, but should initiate and coordinate and be a driving force. English municipal bodies with Government assistance were doing great work in providing working-class houses, and the possibility of such a scheme being carried out in New Zealand should not be ignored. There were building societies in New Zealand, and there was a possibility of them playing a very important part in the housing problem. Public utility societies, established for I

the express purpose of providing dwellings at low rentals in the cities, would, if fostered by the Government and local authorities and placed under competent control, achieve more than could be expected from any other source in the reduction of rental values, not only in the areas controlled by them, but throughout the cities. The possibilities of these societies should receive a very close attention before local authorities were asked to undertake the work. Mr. Haigh was thanked for his paper, and the conference carried a resolution in which it was stated that the memibers appreciated the necessity for some .'improved scheme for promoting better J housing,