LEGAL INQUIRY COLUMN.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 149, 25 June 1936, Page 27

LEGAL INQUIRY COLUMN.

(By BARRISTDR-AT-LAW.) [Letters of i inquiry will be answered every week in this column. As far as possible they will be dealt wltli in the order in which they are received, and replies will be inserted with the least possible delay.] CONSTANT READER.—(I) The Fair Rents Act iloes not apply to any premises forming part of a building originally erected for the purpose of being let as two or more separate Hats or apartments. (—) Unless you take steps to have the fair rent lixed the present rent is the rent that you must paj. In fixing the rent or in deciding whether von must give up possession, the rent iit which you sublet can be taken into consideration. If you are a weekly or monthly tenant you cannot validly gn e a sub-tenant a tenancy tor two months, but vou may sub-let for a weekly or monthly tenancy. U!) On the face of it vou are a weekly tenant, and as sucj may leave on giving une . 1 c ) 0 " r nl . w s notice to eucl on yotu* weekly lent tl.ij. T~IICI F\ T You At ill probably find it most satisfaotory to apply to have the fair rent of the house hxed by the Coutt. PVKKXT. —For the purposes of electing •school committees "householder means evorv adult male or female person wtio has'for three months resided in any •dwelling hou.se in the district as the owner or tenant thereof, and also he father or guardian of any child attending the school. The word householder also includes the husband or wife ot anv person who possesses the abo\e (lualiHcatioiis. There is no tiuoruni accessary for a meeting of householders. It' people are not sufficiently interested to attend the meeting they cannot very well complain that the meeting was not representative. If yoil thinK the resolution does not meet with the approval of most householders you could convene <i meeting to pass u different resolution. DELTA.—(I) Strictly the amount should for pension purposes be shown as income. If you do show it you should make it clear where It came from, i-) The widow and child take the whole estate. KOI'ITY —The tenant's obligations will depend on the terms of the ease. In the absence of any provision ill the lease you cannot compel the owner to clear the land. GRID.—The Court can decide, If appropriate proceedings are taken, to sutfer by the theft and may direct vou to pay the dealer some compensation. If the police report on the i ealei is satisfactory the Court is quite like } to order you to pay the oiim mentioned. It' however, the dealer's record is bad. the Court may award him nothing. The dealer" having honestly bought the machine was entitled to do as ut pleased with it. INTERESTED. — I think the agreement, which is usually signed on receiving the supply, covers the point you rase You could at least inquire °" grounds you are asked to hear the los.b, and if the company is basing its claim on the supply agreement you can read the copy and see whether the point is covered. If there is no agreement 1 incline to the view that you are not liable, but will give you a definite opinion next week. PUZZLED. —Until the fair rent of ye" r premises has been fixed you are liable to pav £1 per week, lou may deduct from "future rent any amount that jou have paid in excess of fl per week since the rent was increased. lou cannot be evicted except by order of a magistrate, and the mere fact that vou have insisted on the rights given by the Act to you will not be to your disadvantage.

R\ISED RENTS.- —In the meantime nnd unless and until you obtain an order from a magistrate fixing the fair rent, the rent you are now charged is the rent that "you must pay. Unless the court thinks that the increased*o?ent which you have been paying since February is fair, it will fix the rent as that which you were paying on November 27 last. JI.F.—Ton should continue to pay the rent that you were charged on May 1, 1930. The landlord cannot increase it without the consent of a'magistrate. WORRIED. —You must pay the increased rent until a fair rent lias been fixed by a magistrate. See answer to "Raised Rents." ORCHARD INQUIRER. —If t>»e orchard is included in your tenancy you are entitled to the fruit. I cannot tell • you whether the orchard was included or not —that is a matter of fact and not of law. GREY LINNET. —It is not possible to give you a useful opinion as to the rights of parties under a deed without a copy of the deed. It is more difficult if, as you say, the deed does not correctly set forth tlie parties' intenArc nil agrGGcl thtifc tlic dcou is wrong in this respect.' There is nothing in your letter that indicates that the elder brother can can claim sole ownership or even possession until his younger brother is of age, nor is there anything which indicates that the father can vary the deed or revoke it. INQUIRER. —Your friend has been chargcd the maximum. E G R —You are bound by your lease to "pay rent until it expires. You cannot escape that obligation by giving notice to "quit. If you do leave before the lease expires tlie owner may be able to find a new tenant, and in that way the damage that lie suffers through your breach of the lease may be minimised. : DOUBTFUL. —If you consider that the | words impute that your wife com-1 mitted a crime she may bring an action for slander without proving I special damage. It does not seein to me that the words are capable ot the interpretation you put upon them, nor, for that matter, of any slanderous' meaning. If, however, the words are slanderous, but do not imply that yoiu wife committed a crime, she must prove that- she suffered special danfijA'C. and vour letter does not indicatdWiat she .suffered any. It is possible that the ; actions of the party were sufficiently, offensive to make the statement slan-i derous. I would not advise you, how-j ever, to pursue the matter.