The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. SATURDAY, JANUARY 3rd, 1925. WAR AND RENTS.

Hokitika Guardian, 3 January 1925, Page 2

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. SATURDAY, JANUARY 3rd, 1925. WAR AND RENTS.

Thoubi.k is anticipated in New York at the end o! the period of fixed rentals which was established during the "ar. The rule* decreed that there was to he no raising of rents in certain residential flat areas lor the duration of the war ami a defined period afterwards that is now closing. The effect of the role, apparently, was to cause a boom in the building of now flats and apartment houses where rents were not restricted. Now that restraint on rents in old ] roperties is ending, landlords ol these places would he glad

to raise rents to recoup themselves for their loss of the rise of rent in the period affected by the war. Rut there is such a large over-supply of new buildings that any attempt to raise

rents in the old structures will simply drive tenants out to the new apartments, amongst which, through over supply, rents have fallen below the Profit line. In an attempt to gain tenants, owners of new buildings are offering twelve-month tenants two or even three months’ occupancy rent free. On the whole the legislative restriction of rents seems to have caused excessive building and a present diminu-

tion of landlords’ revenues below the profit line. At the same time, all the owners of new buildings enjoyed boom rents while the restriction lasted, and perhaps can now endure a l'e'V lean years. This astute method of handling the war rent inflation was not applied in Australian cities. Sydney established a “fair” rents court, and Melbourne did nothing. Consequently. Sydney investors put. up relatively few new flat buildings after the Armistice, because the fear of the Court restrained enterprise. Melbourne, on the other hand, witnessed a record building lioom. with

the result that the increased supply of flats and houses is causing a gradual reduction in rents. Those various methods and results appear to indicate on the whole that the New York scheme was l**st in the emergency, as it saved settled residents from exploitation during the period of inflation and caused investors to launch out in new build-

ing operations when these were most needed. These facts are interesting liecause they can be applied correctly when other world crises arise. No doubt the heavy withdrawals of capital and labour forces from the building trade during the war lay at the bottom

of all round.inflation of prices of commodities. But in the light of experience to-day it is difficult to see how this withdrawal could have been avoided. But the self-interest of the individual will view the experience as proof of the soundness of real cxtnte security in war time. Those, who owned their own houses before the war and sold them for great profit often found themselves homeless and at the mercy of 'the profiteering landlord. Those who held on to their homes may regret that they did not get any of the hoom profits, hut they lived free from landlords’ exactions during the time of the inflation, and they are still living rent free.