Another type, of which only two have been built, are the same height, but the ground storey contains a tenement of four rooms, and each of the upper tenements two rooms. The entrance to the upper flats in this case is obtained by the same doorway as to the ground floor dwelling. The houses are larger, the frontage being 23 feet 6 inches, the depth 24 feet, and the area 63 square yards. The same arrangement has been followed in the rear for providing yards and air spaces. Five houses have been erected of Type G. The ground floor in each of these contains a tenement of three rooms, while each of the upper storeys contains a tenement of two rooms. The entrances are the same as in the house last described, and the same arrangement has been followed in the rear of the building. The frontage of each house is 20 feet, the depth 18 feet, and the area 40 square yards. These houses are situated in the most crowded part of Liverpoolthe Scotland Yard-where the death rate is 40 per 1,000. It is packed with a dense Irish population, all very poor. The cost of clearing the site was 1 25. od. per square yard. Had the Corporation parted with the land it would have sold it for the purpose of working class dwellings at 5s. per square yard. The price of the cleared site was fixed at 12s. per yard, which is the market value. The capital on the land and buildings had to be paid back in 30 years. The rent of the cheapest two-roomed dwellings is 2s. 6d. per week for two rooms and a scullery with the use of yards, &c. If we reckon the scullery as worth half a room, the engineer's estimate holds good. The average rent works out at is. 5d. per room per week. The tenants belong to a very poor class, and the houses are greatly in demand. Recent Important Schemes for Tenement Houses. During the past two years an improved type of cheap dwelling has been adopted, and although the cost per room has been higher than in the case of Gildart's Gardens, a much more pleasant, convenient, and civilising set of buildings are now being erected. All of them are intended to rehouse tenants dispossessed from adjoining slums, and it is noteworthy that close upon 1,000 dwellings have been either built or planned during the past two years, as compared with a little over 606 in the preceding half century. They are nearly all tenement houses, and have been or are being erected in the following streets : One- Two room. room. ཐ་ Three- Total Valuation room No. of of Land & and over Rooms Buildings. A description of one of the cheapest groups which are already completed and occupied, will give a good idea of their general character and arrangements as to cost, rents, etc. The Dryden Street and Rachel Street Dwellings (completed in April, 1901), comprise two blocks of three-storey dwellings, containing 396 rooms in 182 tenements (mainly two rooms), and a recreation room, with yards on the ground and first floors. Access to the first floor tenements is from a balcony running the whole length of the back of the blocks ; the second floor tenements being reached by a staircase off the balcony. The sizes of the rooms in the respective tenements are as follows : 132 two rooms (first and second floor), living room, 121 sq. ft.; bedroom, 85 sq. ft. ; let at 3/- per week. 28 two rooms (ground floor), living room, 162 sq. ft. ; bedroom, 116 sq. ft.; let at 4/- per week. 16 three rooms (ground floor), let at 4/6 per week. 6 four-room tenements, let at 6/- per week. The They are brighter in appearance than those in Gildart's Gardens. cost of building, exclusive of a hot water supply which is given throughout the dwellings, was £593 per room, or 7'07d. per foot cube. The capital outlay was-land, £4,173; buildings (including hot water supply), £26,554; being a total of £30,727. During part of 1901 the receipts were 626 and the expenses £305, leaving a gross profit of £321, so that as the full year's receipts would be £1,586, the annual profit will probably be about £900, sufficient to pay interest at two-and-a-half per cent., and repay the principal in 75 years. Financial Results. From the date of erection up to the year 1902, it appears that the average annual income of the block dwellings (see p. 69), costing £102,172, has been £5,182, and the working expenses, including rates, £2,392, thus leaving a gross profit of £2,689 per annum, which would be sufficient to pay interest at two-anda-half per cent. and to repay the principal of the building loan in 100 years. In addition to this the dwellings have provided an annual contribution of some £784 towards the city exchequer in the form of rates. In the case of the tenement buildings only a few have been occupied long enough to give returns, but those in Arley Street and Juvenal Street, costing £15,840, have shewn average annual receipts of £994, and working expenses amounting to £384, thus leaving an annual gross profit of £606, which would be sufficient to pay interest at 3 per cent. and to repay the principal of the loan in 50 years. In addition there has been a contribution of £180 per annum towards the city exchequer in the form of rates. These figures are interesting because they show that by limiting the loan period to 30 years and charging for interest above the market rate an artificial loss or deficit on profitable municipal housing schemes can be created, and in many cases is created, by the Local Government Board and other branches of the central Government. |