ENG-1978 — Page 137

HOUSING AND LAND

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an enormous improvement in living facilities and in densities. The remainder of the population lives in housing of non-permanent materials, but about half of this is in the rural areas and occupied by the farming and fishing communities.

Nonetheless, the problem is far from solved. The government's target is to ensure that every family has a permanent, self-contained home at a rent it can afford. This means replacing inadequate housing in the remaining squatter areas, private tene- ments and the early resettlement estates and also building new homes to meet the needs of population growth and continuing immigration.

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The age structure of the population indicates that the number of households will continue to grow from one million at present to 1.3 million in 1983, although the average size of households will diminish. Most of these new households will want, and will be able to afford, self-contained flats_which will need to be built by both the government and the private sector.

The Housing Authority

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In 1973, the Resettlement Department and old Housing Authority were amalgamated into a new Housing Authority. This comprises the Secretary for Housing, 13 unofficial members (eight of whom are urban councillors) and six official members, all of whom are appointed by the Governor. The authority is a statutory corporation with respon- sibility for its own finances and management. Its principal task is to build and manage public housing estates, but it also deals with temporary housing, squatter control and clearance, and advises the government on housing policy.

The authority meets bi-monthly but works mainly through six committees: finance, building, management, operations, home ownership and appeals. The decisions of the Housing Authority are carried out by the Housing Department.

In 1977, revised financial arrangements between the government and the Housing Authority were drawn up. The authority is no longer required to pay any premium for the grant of land for public housing purposes but land value, derived from the residual method of valuation, is written into the Housing Authority's balance sheet as a government contribution. Drawings from the Development Loan Fund for new con- structions will be repaid over 40 years, interest-free. The current programme aims at producing 163,000 new rental flats over the next five years, by which time more than 60 per cent of the population will be in public housing.

Home Ownership Scheme

In 1977, on the advice of a government working party, the Housing Authority was invited to build, allocate and manage a new Home Ownership Scheme which envisages the construction of 42,000 flats by 1986. In December, 1977, the authority let building contracts for the first phase of the scheme which will provide 8,300 flats on six sites, to be completed in 1979–80. The flats will range in size from 37 to 60 square metres and each will have a living room, two or three bedrooms, a kitchen and bathroom. Finishes will be comparable to good private development, and will include teak parquet floors and closed circuit television door-telephones.

Selling prices, ranging from $93,000 to $186,000, are fixed on a non-profit-making basis. Special mortgage arrangements have been negotiated with leading banks and lending institutes and, on the strength of a government partial guarantee against