RENTS RESTRICTED.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 October 1922, Page 5

RENTS RESTRICTED.

THE LEGISLATION EXTENDED. I’EOPLfi FEAR INCREASES. By Telegraph.—Press Association Wellington, Last Night. A deputation of rentpayerS, organised by the Rentpayers’ Association, waited upon the Prime Minister and the Minister of Labor to-day and requested that the provisions of the Rent Restriction Act should be extended until December 31, 1923, and the protection afforded tenants who are returned soldiers should also be extended.

The deputation was introduced by Mr P. Fraser, M.P., who said the legislation should be extended until such time that the Government was satisfied there were enough houses to go round. The position in Wellington to-day was as serious as ever it had been and some very distressing cases were constantly coming under his notice. The deputation, which was mostly comprised of women, enlarged upon the situation in Wellington and quoted their own experiences. They told many stories of evictions and threatened evictions, and urged the Prime Minister to come to the assistance of people who were unfortunate enough not to own their own hom'es. Rents were already extortionate and increases were bound to take place all round as soon as the legislation expired. The Prime Minister stated the Government had no desire to inflict hardship on people, but he had been told so often that the rent restriction legislation tended to discourage the erection of houses that he thought there must be something in it. Cabinet had had the matter under review and had decided to extend the law until March 31 next, but Cabinet would have to consider the position again ibefore any further extension could be agreed to. It now rested with Cabinet and he could not give a definite reply. It must be understood, however, that the law could not continue indefinitely. The Government 'had done , a great deal in the way of assisting people to build houses, but it could not do everything that was required in that direction. There must be assistance from private enterprise, and he had been told private enterprise had not ibeen so active as one would expect because of the restrictive legislation which had been passed. The Hon. G. J. Anderson (Minister of Labor) said Cabinet had already decided to extend the Act. The only difference of opinion was as to the length of extension. He knew how serious the position was in Wellington and he would bear that in mind when the matter was under discussion again.