Catalogue description Ministry of Health and successors: Housing Department, later Division: Housing Finance, Registered Files (701, 5006 and other Series)

The papers in this series are concerned with financial provision for the encouragement of the building of houses by local authorities, housing associations and other bodies.

The Housing (Additional Powers) Bill, 1919 provided for grants and subsidies to be paid to local authorities and other bodies, the Exchequer bearing any loss sustained by a local authority on its housing schemes in excess of the sum produced by a penny rate.

Rising costs soon caused this to be abandoned and subsequent Acts provided for a fixed sum by way of Government subsidy and a fixed sum from the rate fund; the ratio being that of 2:1. A variation of this occurred in the Housing Act, 1923 which provided for slum clearance subsidies on a 50/50 basis.

The Housing Act 1924, increased the subsidies payable and at the same time restricted the amounts of rents that could be charged.

The Housing Act 1925 enabled local authorities to advance money for house ownership subject to conditions approved by the Minister.

The Housing (Rural Workers) Act 1926 gave permission to County Authorities, in accordance with schemes approved by the Minister, to make loans or grants to private persons as lump sum payments or annual grants spread over 20 years towards the cost of improving the standards of rural housing.

The Housing Act, 1930 provided that Exchequer assistance towards slum clearance which had formerly been on a percentage basis should be brought into line with the assistance given for the building of new houses by the provision of a fixed grant based on the number of persons displaced from slum areas or individually unfit houses.

The Housing Act, 1935 made provision for the abatement of overcrowding and an automatic subsidy became available where it was necessary to build upwards in flats on expensive sites.

The Housing Act, 1938 provided an Exchequer subsidy up to £10 per annum for 40 years for houses built by private enterprise for the agricultural population subject to letting and certain conditions.