SOLDIERS’ HOUSES

Dominion, Volume 16, Issue 224, 9 June 1923, Page 7

SOLDIERS’ HOUSES

DEPARTMENTAL POLICY CAUSES PROTEST

By Telegraph. —Press Association. Auckland, June 8A matter of considerable importance to* returned soldiers which has not received much public attention was considered by the Dominion Conference ot the New Zealand Returned Soldiers Association to-day. This referred to the Lands Department’s policy in some instances of loading houses vacated by returned soldiers with arrears ot interest and costs of previous owneis when offering the dwellings to other soldier applicants. A remit protesting against this policy and expressing the opinion that th© revaluation of such dwellings on present-day values should be made, was put forward. It was mentioned that it sometimes happened that a soldier found he could not keep up payments on his house and surrendered it. The accumulated arrears of interest, with legal costs, were added to the capital value, and this, added to the fact that in many cases buildings had cost a great deal more than would be the case were such dwellings erected to-day, made it too expensive for another soldier to take over. ' ' _ One southern delegate said that in his district there were four such houses on the hands of the Department, and the local association had been informed that until these dwellings were applied for and taken over the association could not expect z to receive further grants for houses. The opinion was generally expressed that the State should bear loss revealed by revaluation and the writing-off of accrued liabilities. The remit was adopted.