CITY LEASEHOLDS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1696, 12 March 1913, Page 8

CITY LEASEHOLDS.

AN ANSWER TO THE MAYOR.

Statements made by the Mayor (Mr. D. M'Laren) 011 the subject of corporation leaseholds (published in The Dominion yesterday) were submitted by a reporter to Mr. Gerald Fitrgerald who has an intimate knowledge of the administration of both leasehold and freehold property in this city.

With regard to the Mayor's suggestion that if the conditions of the city leases were varied the lessees might be given an unfair advantage over the owners of freehold properly in the city, Mr. Fitzgerald remarked that there could be 110 fear of competition because a freeholder had the right to the enhancement or speculative increase in the value of the property. This was what he held a. freehold for. A leasehold tenant, 011 the other hand, did not become entitled to the speculative increase; the two tilings were totally distinct. It might be true that, if the leases were varied and made more accessible, freeholds would slightly decline in value just as now they tended to appreciate, bpeausn the leases were regarded as unfair, but the freeholders could not reasonably erumble if the corporation administered its property properly. »

The origin of the present eornoration lease, commonly known as the Glasgow lease, is more or Irss obscure. All lliot Mr. Fitzgerald knows aboul it is that it was a special lease adopted -soni? years ago as the result of a consultation between the representatives of the thsn leaseholders and the corporation. As Mr. Fitzgerald pointed out some time ago the' great defect of the lease is that it makes no provision for eomnensation for improvements in the event of a tenant electing to s-.urrender his lease instead of renewing if. The administration of the citv leo.'oholds is also at fault, Mr. Fitzgerald stated yesterday, because there is no recognised sot of rules under which the leases are administered. On each occasion when 0 lease is renewed file arbitrators are left ,free' to do as thev choose. Consistent administration thus became impossible. Mr. Fitzgerald lias suggested that if the administration of Hi? hold* is to be reformed a skeleton form should bo provided with blanks fo be filled in by tb" arbitrators. The rental, value, lie consider*, should be based upon rents which evidence may show to I-? obtainable in the citv from s;m ; lar buildings. The rental value being iMrnninril in this way tTie arbitrators should next fill in such items a.s ewt of building', depreciation. cost of working, losses from unwnupied <paee. insurance, etc. "The ratios of these tlp'ngs would have lo'be tnk*n into account." concluded M'\ Fitziereld. "and I can't, see why it should not bo done uiwn a uniform nlan bv usima form the requisite number of