CLAUSE IN BILL DELETED

Southland Times, Issue 24880, 21 October 1942, Page 4

CLAUSE IN BILL DELETED

Amendment To Fair Rents Act (P.A.) WELLINGTON, October 20. In moving the second reading of the Fair Rents Amendment Bill in the House of Representatives today, the Attorney-General, the Hon. H. G. R. Mason, said it was important in war-time to protect tenants from ejectment so long as they behaved themselves. Referring to a clause dealing with prospective tenants with children, he said a sub-clause which made it an offence for a property owner to inquire if a person had children would be deleted. It had been taken from Australian legislation, but went too far. The whole idea of the Bill was to protect tenants and prevent rents from being unduly increased. The assessment of a fair rent had been left to magistrates. The Leader of the Opposition, Mr S. G. Holland, said he believed every member would agree that control was essential during war-time, but they wanted to see that it was fair. The fact that one portion of the Bill had to be dropped indicated that the measure had been prepared in a hurry. It appeared that the Bill denied the right of an owner to select his own tenant. It placed a restriction on the private owner compared with the State. The owner of a dwelling who refused to let five or six children occupy one room was liable to a penalty of £5O. POSTPONEMENT SUGGESTED Mr Holland added that he had already received several communications about the Bill. He would be glad to support the measure if it were improved. He suggested that the original Act should be extended as suggested and the remainder of the Bill postponed until they met in December. The Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. P. Fraser, said the Bill was intricate and he would be agreeable to taking the second reading and leaving the committee stage until the last day of the sitting. The Minister of Public Works, the Hon. H. T. Armstrong, said the regulation forbidding inquiries about children would operate against the State Advances Corporation because the corporation gave preference to large families, and consequently sought information about prospective tenants. Actually the percentage of large families was very small. Mr W. P. Endean (Nat., Remuera), said the clause relating to children appeared to him to violate the primary principles of property ownership. There also seemed to be a reversal sin the accepted principle of British justice where the onus was placed on the property owner to prove that he had not refused tenancy because of children. HALF OF INCOME FOR RENT Mr H. E. Combs (Lab., Wellington Suburbs) said there were houses in Wellington where the rental absorbed half the income of the tenant with the result that Social Security had to be relied on to balance the family budget. That was not right, and the Bill would help to correct it. The measure was a bold step, but a step in the right direction. Mr J. Acland (Nat., Temuka), said he felt an injustice was being done to men serving in the forces. Many of these men had left their homes, and because they could not be kept going on service pay had let tenants in. Under the Bill it seemed that they were to be denied the right to return to those homes until one year after the war was over unless they could prove greater hardship than the tenant. The tenant might increase his family and consequently the returned serviceman would not be able to move him. If a man was prepared to leave his home to fight for his country it seemed wrong that he should have to go before a magistrate to recover possession of his home when he returned. ALLOWANCE SUGGESTED To meet what was undoubtedly a necessity and to encourage larger families, as well as to assist in the provision of suitable housing, Mr W. J. Broadfoot (Nat., Waitomo), suggested that a tenant be allowed to claim from the State, until accommodation could be provided, a rental allowance for each child over two in number. He suggested that there should be a proviso that the rent payable should, not exceed a fair rental plus the allowance, and the income of the tenant should not exceed the income and family benefits allowed under the Social Security scheme. Mr F. W. Doidge (Lab., Tauranga), said the housing position represented a public scandal after the Socialist Government had been seven years in office. Under State control the housing situation could not be coped with; the methods were too slow and the costs too high. The Minister of Mines, the Hon. P. C. Webb, said he had had personal experience of very distressing cases in Wellington because of the scarcity of houses. The measure under consideration was overdue. The Bill was read a second time and the House rose at 10.30 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. tomorrow.