TECHNOBUREAUCRACY AND CITY LIFE provided the means by which landowners could develop their property. By creating the means by which individual families could take on the responsibility for their own housing the phenomenon of the debt-encumbered house owner became a reality. The building societies have a « trade body » known as the Building Societies Association (BSA) which has stringent conditions for membership in terms of the financial structure of any society. In 1973 as many as 288 societies were members of the BSA and those societies which were not members did not qualify. « The BSA is the voice of the movement and ... most individual societies whilst varying their operations in detail do follow the general guidelines laid down by the BSA» (41). As far back as 1894 the societies were brought under strict government control with the Building Societies Act 1894. This Act consolidated the earlier 1874 Act which placed the societies under the supervision of the Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies. The Building Societies Act 1962 also placed strict control over many aspects of societies activities ranging from the form of investments that building societies may make to the composition of the Board of Directors and the type of advance they can offer. The Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies, a government appointee, enacts this control. « All societies submit an annual return to the Registry (which is available for public inspection and the Registrar keeps in close contact with the movement as a whole (mainly through informal and formal contact with the BSA). Apart from checking the legality of innovations proposed by Building Societies, the Chief Registrar usually exercises his power in the form of persuasion and discussion with societies that "err". Thus he advises societies on their investment and lending policies if he notes that their balance sheet reveals "undesirable aspects". He can express his disapproval of a societiy's management or other arrangements by the witholding of trustee status. This he does in the case of societies that do not own their own premises or which appear to be in too close an arrangement with estate agents and property companies. He can also exercise power and stap societies from accepting investments, advertising and performing other functions» (41). The legal restrictions placed on societies are the price they (41) WILLIAMS P.: op. cit., pp. 27-28. 25
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