Cases Before Court To Determine Fair Rent

Taranaki Daily News, 31 August 1942, Page 6

Cases Before Court To Determine Fair Rent

"What the Legislature contemplated that the tenant should have as of right, he can often secure only through legal process," says the annual report of the Labour Department, in commenting on the operation of the Fair Rents Act. "The principle of the Act was to peg rents of dwelling-houses at the rent payable in November, 1935, and, in the case of flats, at the rent payable in June, 1939. These rents, both described as the 'basic rent,' were to be adhered to; but a procedure was set out for determination by a magistrate of a 'fair rent,' while a fair rent could be agreed upon in writing by landlord and tenant. "Because of the lapse of time since the Act was passed, it is becoming increasingiy difficult to secure evidence regard-

ing the basic rent. Thus, whereas previously it was possible for a tenant to secure his rights merely by maintaining payments of the known basic rent, it is now often necessary to resort to court proceedings to fix a fair rent." The report says that inspectors continue to be consulted extensively, although the bulk of the inquiries' are confined to Auckland and Wellington cities, which accounted for 80 per cent. of cases dealt with in 1941-42. At Auckland, by reason of a policy of renewal of agreements between landlords and tenants fixing fair rents, a considerable number of cases consisted of the review of agreements previously approved. Nevertheless, many new cases received attention. Inspectors of factories are empowered to act on behalf of tenants in proceedings under the Afft, and the numbers of tenants availing themselves of this service in the year under review were 3439 j at Auckland and 1632 at Wellington. Of the Auckland cases, 2105 concerned re- | view of agreements, of which only 51 were not approved by the inspector. In 33 cases brought to court at Auckland on owners' applications, the rent was re- | duced in seven cases, justified in 17, and the basic rent adhered to in nine. In 103 ' tenants' applications to the court, the rent was reduced in 70 cases. ,