There are perhaps three reasons why it was decided that this was the best way to proceed to deal with this problem. First of all, the housing authorities in most of the county boroughs and large towns have a particularly acute problem to solve in dealing with slum areas and congested areas in their districts and they have set up a special section in their organisation for dealing with this, which works in a rather specialised way. All the grants which have been appropriated heretofore under the Housing of the Working Classes Acts for that special purpose have proceeded on the assumption that none of the tenants of ordinary corporation houses could afford to pay an economic rent. The houses are built more or less on approved and standardised plans for the accommodation of families where the segregation of the sexes is required. There is such a very long waiting list of persons with large families, persons coming within the special class of families where one or more of the members may be suffering from tuberculosis, families which have been living in condemned houses and so on, that it would have been, I think, unjust to have disregarded their particular claims under the existing provisions of the Housing Acts and have required the corporation to set aside houses which as I have said are primarily designed to accommodate families of five, six or seven where the segregation of the sexes is required and where the assumption is that those who are going to live in them cannot afford to pay an economic rent.
In the case of young married couples, I think we can assume that at the outset at any rate, provided the man is in reasonably constant employment, provided he has such a job as would justify him, in prudence, in marrying, the question of providing a house at a rent less than the economic rent does not in general arise. Therefore some of the houses will not be subsidised at all and, in cases where a subsidy is given, it will not be on anything like the same scale as is given in the case of ordinary houses built under the Housing of the Working Classes Acts.
Secondly the houses need not be so large. They are built primarily for young people with no children. It is not felt that it is necessary, in present circumstances particularly, to provide these people with large houses which might be more than a woman with a young family or a baby to look after, could comfortably manage. Apart altogether from that, the supply of building materials being restricted, we have got to try to reduce the demand on the common pool of building materials and labour.
The next point is that these houses are designed for young people entering on married life and it was felt perhaps that we should, if we could, having due regard to the other considerations, such as the burden which might be imposed on the State in relation to subsidies and the burden which might be placed on tenants in regard to non-subsidised houses, design them on the most modern lines—that is to say that they would be provided with first-class kitchens, first-class bathrooms and generally with the amenities which attach to very good houses and which would enable these houses to be conveniently, easily and economically run.
In fact the idea was to give these people starting married life every possible support we could while at the same time not relieving them unduly— in fact not relieving them at all in some cases—of the ordinary obligations and responsibilities which attach to the foundation of a family and which should normally belong to the head of the family. For that reason we decided these houses should be special class houses. Another way in which they differ from the ordinary houses is that the Minister takes power under this section to require these houses to be constructed. He proposes that the general planning and design of the houses should set a higher standard than we have been able to adopt in relation to houses which have been built under the various Housing Acts.
These are three or four of the reasons which determined us to proceed in this way. It is a highly experimental approach to this problem. I do not know whether it will be successful. We are trying to break new ground. The scheme has some advantages. It will be a good thing if we can get people entering on married life to assume the responsibility of paying an economic rent, and of not being under any definite obligation to the community. If they can stand on their own feet, that creates a good psychological approach on their part to future problems. Next, you can have a reasonably expeditious turnover on these houses. They are small; they are not intended to be the last habitation of these families; they are houses in which we hope they will be able to adjust themselves to the various problems of married life.
This will give them an opportunity, when they can get a house, of marrying earlier than they otherwise might and starting life in a decent home in good surroundings. It will give them five years in which they can find alternative accommodation. At the end of five years we hope that they will be in a position to pay an economic rent for a house provided under the ordinary Housing Acts, and indeed that those who are in a better position at the end of that period may be able to provide themselves with accommodation independently of the local authorities.
The general idea is to make it possible for people, who normally could afford to marry but who cannot get a house, to marry. We are also trying to cater for a second class of person, the person who, while not able to pay the full economic rent of a house such as we have in mind, will nevertheless be able to pay a substantial rent, a rent perhaps higher than the generality of those who occupy local authority houses can afford to pay or are called upon to pay.
These are the general principles upon which we proceeded. The houses will contain two bedrooms and we hope we will be able to provide them with modern up-to-date kitchens, bathrooms and the other amenities that attach to a good house. We hope they will become model homes. That is the general theory upon which we proceeded.
The houses will be of two classes. There will be a Class A house which we anticipate will let at about 30/- or thereabouts per week—perhaps a little more or less. That will depend on the cost of the house, but that type of house will be let at an economic rent. Then there will be the Class B house which will be let at about 20/- per week. It is not intended that these houses should be occupied by the same tenants for a period longer than five years. At the end of that period we think those people should either be provided for by the local authority with a house built under the Housing Acts or be able to secure alternative accommodation themselves.
This plan will be run for at least five years and if it is successful and justifies itself it will probably be continued. I should like to emphasise that this is an entirely experimental approach to the problem. We do not know whether it will work out successfully, but we hope it will. If it does, it will meet what is a very crying need in our cities and larger towns.
