CITY RATES

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 230, 23 June 1920, Page 7

CITY RATES

Sir,—Wellington ratepayers have a good deal to be alarmed about in tho rising cost of civic administration and management, not alono in tlhe immediate increase of rates about to be demanded, but in respect of what must follow if the present intentions of the council 1 are Biven effect, to. To illustrate: tho vhole of'the city is to bo revalued at an early date, and assuming that work is done during tho current year, it almost goca without saying that values will be increased, in some cases (notably the business part of the city) very considerably, and aa tho rates now to be increased will be applied to the new valuations, another increase may be fairly safely anticipated, as rates never—well, hardly evor-aro reduced. Nor is that aid. The Mayor and council are advocating a million loan, which will probably mean about another <£60,000 in annual interest to be met out of the rates, yet the ratepayers (i.e., .the owners of property) are not at present permitted to raise tho , rents (on residential properties bringing in loss than <£2 per week) above an 8 per cent, Teturn on the 1914 Government valuations. Was anything more unfair nnd. inequitable ever enacted? The perison. who invests his money in a business jn%' alter his prices to suit tho timc9, out lie who may have invested his hardearned savings in a cottage or two may not raise his. rents, whilst having the increased cost of everything, including ?tn<'i -"JfMgement, thrust upon him. Whilst it has already been admitted that the rent-restricting legislation lias effectuaj.y put an end to house-building as an investment or speculation, and so accentuating the housing problem, it must • tlhe building of houses ! a the furore must be restricted to those building for themselves, ns municipalities and the Government have both failed to meet the acute demand. In reality, the speculative butfder was the btat rent-regulator this or any other commun- • because the greater his Activities , the more houses there were, and the greater competition for tenants resulted; but the war-time legislation has crushed him, and all over the country the Government and local bodies are feebly trying to do the work he woulld naturally do wero he not put cf tho business by short-sighted! legislation. Everyone is seeking to know how to 6olvq the housing problem (a section of people, lead by Mr. P. Eraser, M.P., and pS>.. are doing their best to accentuate st by killing all prospect of anyone building houses for the people), when the obvious thing to do is to at once remove the rent ,restrictions, and encourage fflie building speculator as niufh as possible. After all, houses, like goods, are 6uoject to the law's of supply and demand, and if you kill the man who builds most, you must expect a shortage of houses, whereas by letting him havo free rein houses would spring up like mushrooms, as the supply caught the demand, rents would levcE. themselves automatically. That might not be for a few years now, as the legislation complained of has checked effort in this direction, but eventually the balance wouEd be restored. If such legislation is not rescinded, the Government, I feci convinced, will create for itself a cihronic housing problem.—l. am, etc., AJAX.