RENTED HOUSES

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 30, 30 October 1919, Page 4

RENTED HOUSES

AND PROPOSED RESTRICTIONS.

In the Housing Bill as it stands at present there is a. provisiou which allows the Court to refuse to givo an order for ejectment if in the opinion of tho Magistrate the execution of eucli ,in order would cause undue hardship to tho tenant. Presumably the Magistrate will bo in duty bound to consider the hardships also of the owner of the premises. A. deputation waited on tho Prime Minister yesterday morning on behalf of the Dominion Estate Agents Association to point out to him that. tlio refusal of an order for (wssessiou might (inile often, cause hardship to the owner. The speakers for the deputation told the Jlinister- that tho new rule might oflen in operation cause groat nardsmp to owners of email properties, who were quite frequently people of email means. It was suggested that the Bill was askhiß the individual to bear a burden which ought to belong to the community. Owners of properties had Had "creased profits V thole tnig o their houses a'mco the war started, ami on the other hand they had to. face ho increased cost of labour, materials, etc., necessarv to keep the properties m liroper repair. A very large number ot nuiivestors had invested their saving in house proi*rty in tho past, ond f Ihev were now further restricted by 10 present proposed legislation they would undoutodly.sufi'cr further. The rolrictions at present were so serious Hwt iu very many cases owners woul not let their houses unless they could net possession again when the term expire! and there was no inducement to ppnplo to build houses. Mr. Massey. in reply, stated that 11 <• Hill could now be amended Iry , Govci-nor-Genernl's Message only, but the piopo'ed legislation' was only a temporary meisire and would-expire probably by SeT Yup * Ho did not think any " Hvi,lual Imrdfp, would accrue from il People with family wore suite - L -Li hardship? in hems: turned on of lion es when tlioy could not. get „ 1, 0 "but he admitted that similar inBtiticM existed on the reverse side. T"|w demWion B «™ instances of .lanlsh in to sub-tenants and others, and tho 1,!,, of a soldier whose place was let whilst at (he front, but when he returno,l he found another returned soldier.in ~nf.<=e=?ion. who. however, refused to give ptlie premises. It was «\ ? o pointed oil Uuil. owners could not let their ].'oin«s for short periods when absent temporarily with a oertainlv of getting again on their return. Mr .Mnssey promised to pve careful rnini.-lerotkm to the points strewed by the dep-italion and consult his colleagues on them.