HOUSING
117
tion of the capital and recurrent costs. Early in the year this examination was completed, and it was decided that receipts from rent should cover both the repayment of the capital cost in forty years, with interest at 31%, and also all recur- rent costs, including the cost of administration. On this basis, the rent for one room worked out at $14 a month, inclusive of the charge for water. It has been found that this is a sum which settlers can afford to pay. This is shown by the fact that during 1955, out of a total of $1,853,300 due in rent for rooms in multi-storey estates, only $1,538 had to be written off as irrecoverable.
During the year it was also decided that settlers who had previously operated shops in squatter areas should be given the opportunity of renting ground-floor rooms for combined business and domestic purposes at a higher rental. Many have availed themselves of this opportunity. A rent of $100 a month is charged for a ground-floor room, 25 ft. by 9 ft. 6 ins. (double the normal size).
The multi-storey estates are administered by area officers of the Resettlement Department, whose main task is one of educating the inhabitants to observe ordinary rules of hygiene, pay their rents, and in general become good citizens. When it is considered that these persons have formerly been living in insanitary squatter areas where almost all activities were illegal, it can be appreciated that the work of administering these estates requires constant vigilance, coupled with a high degree of tact and under- standing.
The 1954 decision that the main stream of resettlement should be directed into multi-storey buildings was made necessary by the Colony's land problem referred to earlier. The earlier cottage Resettlement Areas have, however, made an important contribution towards the solution of the squat- ter problem. Their population increased during the year from 57,000 to 68,000. In general these areas, of which there are fifteen, consist of steep hillside, unsuitable for multi- storey buildings. Terracing and site formation are carried out by the staff of the Resettlement Department at Government expense, and permit fees are charged for the sites. The majority of the huts or cottages have been built by the settlers themselves at their own expense, but many have been built by charitable organizations and some by the Govern- ment. There are still possibilities for expansion in five of