FAIR RENT BILL

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 46, 22 August 1913, Page 3

FAIR RENT BILL

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, — In youry paper on Thursday and Friday of thi« week you published articles dealing with a "Fair Rent Bill" in New South Wales, and it would be interesting for our City Council to make investigation on the same lines in Wellington. It is a. very unwholesome state of affairs which undoubtedly obtains here, when it is impossible for a. man to build a house within the city which will let and give return for the money invested. Take (v piece of ground valued at £400, put a building of six rooms on it, at £600— equal to £100 a room, total £1000— and try *nd work out the return derived. On the very lowest scale you would want 10 per cent, for your outlay ; but let ua go under that, and make it 8 pßr cent., because it is impossible to get 10 per cent, return, and you will ea«ly see that it ie better not to own property, bat te leave your money out on interest at 5| per cent. If you take the trouble to make enquiries won will find it very nurd to get land at the price mentioned within the city, and the dearer the land the better the house must be, and the higher the rent. Now comes the all-important question: What ia th© cause of this? All people in the building line immediately exclaim that much of the extra expense is caused by the city bylaws. Plumbing has gone up out of 'all reason, and just to show this I will mention on© thing, and that is a< w.c. To,instal this a few years a«o it cost £5, whereas to-day it costs £12 odd, and all other plumbing work is in keeping with this. Then, why i« it necesary to put such drastic conditions upon the public, as I have never known harm come from previous install*, tions? Then again, it is claimed by builders that the size, or gather the thickness, of our brick wallß wfiich are enforced by the council is not really needed. Conditions like these, together with the high price of timber, and the ever increasing cost of material, backed up by plumbing rings, which are said to exist, make it impassible to build a house to let showing a reasonable return. Taken in another light, if a man loses interest on a house to let, it naturally costs money to be allowed to live jn his own house. It is not labour alone that is raising the cost of living. — I am, etc., A FAMILY MAN. 17th August, 1913.