HOUSES AND FLATS

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 21, 20 October 1942, Page 4

HOUSES AND FLATS

All Covered By New, Rents Bill DURATION OF WAR Children To Be No Bar To Tenancy The extension of the operation of the Fair Rents Act to cover all houses and flats for the duration of the war and one year thereafter is provided for in the Fair Rents Amendment Bill introduced in. the House last night. Discussion on the Bill will take place today. An explanation of the nine clauses in the Bill was given by the Minister of Justice, Mr. Mason. He said the Bill frankly recognized that a state of war existed. In the original Act provision was made for certain, exemptions but that was at a time when the authorities did not want to do anything to discourage building, aud flats had been exempted. Today the war interfered with building and that policy could- not operate to the same extent. The result was that now all buildings were to be included. Mr. Mason said -that rooms had always been included under the Act, but an exemption had been made when there was board provided. Rooms were now to be included without reservation. The only type of dwellings now exempt were licensed premises. All dwellings, flats or otherwise, big or little were included and the limit of £3 had gone out. The Bill did not deal with business premises pure and simple, and buildings used partly as business premises and partly as a dwelling were now brought within the scope of the legislation. . - “It has happened that women whose husbands had gone to the war had -taken in boarders and it was previously claimed constituted business premises, continued Mr. Mason. “That will not now occur as this Bill is -drawn. . Another provision was protection for sub-tenants. In the past the sub-ten-ant lost all rights when the head lease was terminated. The Bill does not say the sub-tenant has rights in every case but that he has rights in certain cases. A similar clause makes tenancies of dwelling houses to which the principal Act applies binding on mortgagees. Another clause prohibits the refusal to let houses to people because they have children. , The Bill restricts rents to that payable on September 1, 1942, and in eases where a house was not let on that, date the rent payable will be that which was last previously paid.