RELIEF TO MORTGAGORS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 66, 19 March 1931, Page 6

RELIEF TO MORTGAGORS.

The proposed special tribunal to hear cases of hardship arising out of mortgagp obligations is to be the Supreme Court for large and the Magistrate's Court for small sums. This proposal, which is included in a Bill introduced yesterday, has the great merit of making the court of appeal accessible. A special tribunal might be overwhelmed with work, and vexatious delay might result. We say "might," because it seems to us doubtful whether the new machinery will be used as much as some persons anticipate. It is perhaps not sufficiently realised that the process of adjustment between mortgagor and mortgagee has been going on for some time. The average mortgagee is not a fool, and if there is no market for his security he naturally prefers to nurse it rather than turn out the occupier and expose it to the risk of deterioration. The Bill provides means of settling differences where unofficial means already exist. In some cases, however, where differences cannot be composed, it will be useful. The result in the main will be that the mortgagee will be deprived of his powers under his contract, and for that reason the necessity for this measure, if not the measure itself, is to be deplored. It is a case of doing a wrong to prevent loss that is considered to be, in these exceptional times, against public interest. The danger in the Bill is that it may make borrowing on real estate more difficult. A satisfactory feature of the Bill is the inclusion of the Crown. The State as a lender has an enormous sum out on mortgage all over the country, and the privilege that it has hitherto claimed has caused injustice. That it should in this respect be placed on a level with private mortgagees is a good precedent.