RURAL HOUSING

Press, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23086, 31 July 1940, Page 8

RURAL HOUSING

Amending Bill Introduced [From Our Parliamentary Reporter.] WELLINGTON, July 30. Certain alterations to the existing rural housing legislation, designed to facilitate its administration, are contained in the Rural Housing Amendment Bill, which was introduced and -read a first time in the House of Representatives to-night. Provision is made for county councils, through which bodies the scheme is administered, to impose a penalty of 5 per cent, if instalments of loans are not paid by the due date. . . The Grown is given power, in cases where it is the mortgagee, to yield its priority to any advance made under the act, while the same power is exterfded to trustees. Any fire insurance on buildings erected under the act is to be held hy the local- authority. Members of local authorities are not to be disqualified by receiving advances under the act. County councils are given power to collect instalments of loans in the same way as rates are collected, with, the result that a county council can demand them from the actual occupier of the house, even though that person may not be the one who borrowed the money. Local authorities are given power to issue debentures for the repayment of loans from the State Advances Corporation before the whole amount has been advanced to them. Any buildings hired to farmers to provide accommodation,for farm workers are to remain the property of the Crown; but such transactions are not to be subject to the Hire Purchase Agreements Act, 1939.