ABSTRACT
Housing conditions in general have improved dramatically over the past twenty years, as a result of very high levels of construction and extensive renovation. Dwellings are classified in the survey according to ‘comfort’, as measured by sanitary facilities and central heating. The uncomfortable dwellings were mainly those built before 1914, including both tenanted and owner-occupied dwellings. Some people may be very satisfied with older housing in familiar surroundings, even though the dwellings lack modern amenities. The opinion surveys also reveal that, if they had the opportunity, 65 per cent of households would like to live in a one-family house. The average of rents and service charges for all tenants was estimated to be 16.4 per cent in 1988, compared with 13.6 per cent in 1984, and less than 5 per cent in the 1950s. Households on low incomes - especially those with no member in regular employment - face particularly severe affordability problems.
