Introduction. The National Government’s Drive. Confusion in Valuation. No Standard of an Unhealthy Dwelling. Rent Restriction. Local Authorities and Repairs. Too Many New Houses. But Not Enough Pulling Down. 4,607,679 Houses Should Be Demolished. Proposed Rate of Real Slum Clearance. Our Real Building Needs. Commercial Buildings. Let All Buildings Be Licensed. The Special Areas. Local Authorities as Landlords. A Defence of Private Builders. How is Housing to be Paid For? My Financing Proposals. Amalgamations of Building Societies. The National Mortgage Bank. Regional Public Utility Societies. Town Planning. The Town Planning Committees. The National Land Commissioners. Main Traffic Roads. If a Subsidy, Let it Go to the Tenant. But Subsidies of Any Kind Can Be Made Unnecessary. Mortgages. Stability in the Building Trades. We Can Afford to do It. More Than 100 Per Cent Security. The Agricultural Mortgage Corporation, Ltd. Land Settlement. A Last Word on Unemployment. Summary.
Biography
William Craven-Ellis (1880–1959) was, at the time of original publication, MP for Southampton and had wide public experience. At a very young age he served on the Hale (Manchester) Rural District Council, of which for three years he was Chairman. He had taken a very active part in 1909 and 1910 in opposing the taxation of land values. He had made a special study of the housing conditions of the people in England and had visited America and the Continent to examine conditions there. He had not written this book as a theorist, he had nearly 30 years practical experience of the housing of the people.
