THE HOUSING BILL

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 27, 27 October 1920, Page 8

THE HOUSING BILL

IMPORTANT MEASURE INTRODUCED

AMENDED RENT RESTRICTION

PROVISIONS

BONUSES MADE ILLEGAL

Tho Housing Amendment Bill, which was introduced in the Hou« of Representatives last night, contains a number of machinery amendments in the Housing Act, 1019, intended to facilitate the operations of the Housing Board. It contains also some important new clauses dealing with rents and tenancies.

Tho Government is taking power to lease land required for workers' dwellings, tlie minimum period of the lease to bo sixty years. /i'he Housing Board is authorised to dispose of land by lease or sublease, with protection for the tenants' improvement*.

Xhe maximum cost of dwellings erected under tho Housing Act is increased to ,£9OA' in tho oase of a wooden house and J3IOOO in the case of a house built of concrete or other permanent material. Public utility companies may be assisted by tlie Housing Board to carry out schemes for the provision of homes. . A public utility company is defined as a registered or incorporated company having for its object the establishment of village settlements or garden suburbs and generally the provision oC homes for workers. The maximum amount of tho advance that may be made to any suoli company is not to exceed 75 per cent, of tho value of tho land to which the application relates. The rent restriction provisions of the existing law are not to apply to dwellings first let after the passing of this Bill An important amendment is . proposed in the law relating' to restriction of rents. Tho present law provides that the rent of a house shall not exceed 8 per cent, of the capital valuo as la August, 1914. The Bill provides that a Magistrate, on application by an owner, may increase the rent so ag to allow the owner a net return of 7 per cent, on the capital value of the house as at the date of the application. The Magistrate, in assessing this net return, is to tako iuto consideration the landlord's payments for rates, insurances and repairs, and also the amounts, if any, to be allowed for depreciation'and default ot payment of rent by the tenailt. Another provision is that any rent paid by the tenant in excess of the standard reiit may be recovered from' the landlord by the tenant. 'It may be deducted by the tenant from any rent payable by him to the landlord within a period of six months. The demand or acceptance of a bonuu m connection with the letting of a house 1 1 ""ofeMo punishable by a fine ot ihis penalty applies to any person who 'stipulates for or domands or accepts any bonus, fine, premium, or other like sum in consideration for obtaining or offering to obtain any .dwell-ing-house or part, of a dwelling-house for the occupation of any otlier person. A newspaper may be similarly fined for publishing any advertisement demanding or oljenng a. tonus for a lease of a dwelling-house Magistrates are given power to determine the fair rent of rooms or pans of Iho glounds on which an owner may apply for an order for possession of a ™ S *4w » en t d to , il ! chde Hw folio*, lliv i a ' tho tenant > '>>' subletting the duelling-house or any part thereof" is making a profit which, having regard to able!" 11 P,Ud by th ° te,!ant < » "

fril„ ? clause provides that a Mapisi ( M cl T mnß whether an order ii» stalPtfi •' of a dwell " n V ?„ ! consideration no t nnl> the hardship that would ho suffered bv the tenant fnn order were made but by tho G o vier 7tl lhat J°" ld b ° S,,ffeml uy tuo owner if ,tha order were refused.

J?™ H le Housing Amendment Bill fionh ti™ V\ -'m Ho,lsa of E «P re " fionlntves last, night, Dr. Thackor (Christchurch East) asked Hint something 1 should be dono for elderly people who had invested their savings in E and were prevented now from getting • Squired to 01051 the rm . C . OS ' l living-. Iho Milliliter of Labour replied thai ho had helped people of that kind by allowing the net rent to be 7 per cent Several members urged that tlio maximum of allowed by the Government to a local (body in any ono year was insufficient. A local body could not launch a housing scheme 011 such a. small sum of money. Tho Minister said that if the Government lent the local bodies more, it must spend less itself on housing. r i u' ■J-v.Wrioht (Wellington Suburbs) uigeathat the conversion! of homes into factories and shops ought to be prevent- ? , i"! F.<«ent time. ' Traders had lound tiKi t this was a cheap way of obtaining premises, and their operations had accentuated the housing problem Mr. J. P.! Luke (Wellington North) supported tho plea for increased loans, to local bodies for housing purposes. He agreed that a great deal of hardship was being suffered by landlords as well as bv tenants, and was glad to learn that tho Magistrates wore to-have power to say whether or not the hardship imposed upon the tenant by an order of ejectment wns greater than the hardship lirposed upon the owner by the refusal of an order. Mr. Luke suggested tho payment of,a direct bonus to private builders of homes. He believed this would bo an effective method of securing increased building. Mr. P. I'rasor (Wellingten Central) agreed that in some cases the hardship' fell upon tho owner of the house. Hut in the vast majority of cafces the tenants lvore the sufferers; the landlords usually were quite able to look after themselves A plea for working men who had invested their savings in homes and were unable to get possession was made by Mr. Young (Waikato), who urged that a tenant should •bs required to show that he had made <1 reasonable effort to secure other accommodation before refusing to quit. "You will always have this cry about overcrowding in Wellington a3 long as you continuo bringing Civil Servants here," said Mr ,1. A. Hanan (Invercnrfrill) He advised the Government to devise methods of getting people out of tho cities into the country. • The Bill wns read a first time. HOUSING"LOANS ■POSITION OF HAEBOUR BOARDS. A question regarding loans to local bodies for the purpose of building houses was put to the Prime Minister in the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon by Mr. J. Craigie (Timani). In the Budget, he said, it was stated that, money would be advanced for this purpose at- a low rate of' interest. He wis'i'id to know whether harbour boards participated in this for these boards in a number of cases wished to build houvjs for the accommodation of tlioiv employees.

Mr. Massey said that ho believed tlwt spcc:.:il iprovision was mnde in the Housing Act of last year for harbour boards to borrow money. However, there would be a. further opportunity of raising the ciuestion on the production of this session's Housing Bill, which was just about ready. In all probability it would be submitted to the Houso tomoiTow or the next day.

NEW BILLS Ministers gave notice in the House of Representatives yesterday of intention to introduce the Quarries Amendment Bill, the Nurses Registration Bill, the Laud Drnin.igo Amendment Bill and the Local Railways Amendment Bill.

The Ilospilals and Charitable Institutions Amendment Bill, which proposes to constitute tho counties of Ciutha in-1 Bruce a hospital district, separate from the Otago Hospital District, was yesterday put through Committee in the Legislative Council. The third reading wax soi; down for to-day.