LEGAL INQUIRY COLUMN.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 100, 29 April 1937, Page 26

LEGAL INQUIRY COLUMN.

(By BARRISTER-AT-LAW.) [Letters of inquiry will be answered every week in this column. As far as possible they will be dealt with in the order in which tliey are feceived, and replies will be inserted with the leatst possible delay.]

INQUIRER. —-If the fl:'.t is part of a building originally erected fur tlie purposes of being let as two or more separate Huts or apartments, and is not a building converted into Hats, the Fair Rents Act does not apply, and the rent may be increased. Otherwise the rent must not be raised above what was charged on May 1, I'J3U, unless a magistrate lias fixed a higher fair rent. You m.iy consult an inspector of factories if an application is made to have the rent fixed.

1 + —You may claim damages for breach of contract. I think that the amount you have claimed is as much as you have suffered.

INQIIKKK. — Your husband gave permission and it is tor him to terminate tlie arrangement. If you interfere you will only cause unpleasantness in your own home. Your proposed remedy will not solve the problem at all. It is absurd of you to take the matter so seriously and to make yourself u nervous ivreck over what is only a trivial thing. It is far more important for you to preserve your own health and happiness and your husband s confidence by banishing the whole thing from your thoughts and making up jour mind that you are not going to let a small, unimportant trifle upset you and jour home.

OLD TIMER. —You appear to be eligible for the full pension.

AIiGI.JIEXT.—Tne chairman lias a easting vote which he may use as he thinks lit. There was nothing wrong in the action of the chairman. WE.MiI. I ( ] 0 not know enough of the circumstances of the divorce or the means of the first wife to estimate whether she could insist successfully <•11 more maintenance, either for herself or the children. The fact that the second wife finds ft necessary to supplement her husband's earnings to keep the home going is fairly sound proof that the husband cannot afford to pay more maintenance, and as a matter of commonsense he will not be ordered to pay more than he can afford °M» lIOKHK.- <1. 2 and 3) If your disability has permanently incapacitated you from work you will obtain the invalidity pension. The Pensions epaitnient will have you examined hv a doctor whose report will determine Whether your incapacity is absolute and permanent. (4) You are not exempt from unemployment tax, but "''l'. I *' fo f exemption it will in •111 probability be granted. MACHINE— You may sue for the return , ' lf • vo,lr 'midline or its money value. o 'voT;, 1 I,r l os, ." n '.' "'at When you refer 'O jour relatives solicitor von mean the executor of her will. The executor estate 'm- '/'" y »"< l « the 'M.itt assets are such that the necesseUing,;,h^„ C! V! n ° t ' ,0 °' )til ' n< 'd without Minn* them. tlioy must !><> sold. Kven assets specifically bequeathed to you If the° sal Ito P a} ' or debts f.i, if has n| ade in good faith for the purpose of paviii" ilnlv >-••« -..not 'Yl;,;, , v"j 1!"! s :"""' on " who now "in I»n\ a higher price. J n tlu» mom. w&To il "r, ~n ' 1 "->■ ■" "'S V. , to on ' er .vou to leave Th« landlord must satisfy (he Court that ' bus proper grounds for remiir ir possession, the chief of which is tha 7 for 7'i' S "" ! y ro 'l" ir <*s the premises 1 for his own occupation. If i ie H lu ic \.° 1 promises reasonably suitable Ttn'.imT W " ° " iSC to take '''CI". o'vn^a^^^;-•^na^;je ,S Sb °" ld rCtai " thei *' CH(> ,,V I ; IN r. ; See answer to •Terbe s'ufficien", V ° Tl,e «« KASTKK (I lev on po r t). —(1) The other driver appears from your account of the colhave'h.'! ,i" V t l,e °" and to 1...r .! Ihe last opportunity of avoidi l ,'- 1 accident by taking due care, lie alone is thus responsible for the damage both to his own car and to yours You should certainlv defend an.v claim made and if the amount 1 inolved is worth it should commence proceedings yourself. HOltftY—ial See reply to "Engineer." it.) ion cannot claim for repairs. 4<■> Yon must observe I lie terms of the tenaiicv ami not seek to change them I'av as you have paid before. ' • Ol,l>-TIM Kit.—ill The Fair Rent Act applies whether the tenant lias agreed to pay a higher rent ill.lll is pcrmitti'd or not. I lie tenant may recover rent paid iu excess ol the basic rent, which is normally the rent charged on May 1. 111..(I. (if) An action for damages for assault may lie brought at any time wit bin six years. UXCKItTA IX. — I think you would he justified in withholding further payments until you have received proper receipts for the payments already made. It might be advisable for you to ask your banker not to destroy your cheques after they have been paid, but to hand them over to you as evidence of the payments. T.l'.K. — Yoii should consult your solicitor. It is possible that you are eligible to sue as a pauper, in which case the cost will be about UI-A XAIEII.-—(1) If tlie other party can establish that the agreement does not correctly state the facts and that in fait there is not mutual agreement but desertion by you. your petition will fail. CJ) If your assets are worth less than £o0 and the Court considers your income sufficiently low you may lie permitted to proceed as a pauper. 5..1. -You may charge the adjoining owner interest at the rate of 10 per cent on half the cost of the boundary fence.