ACUTE POSITION

Evening Post, Volume C, Issue 85, 7 October 1920, Page 7

ACUTE POSITION

THE ROUSING PROBLEM

RENTPAYERS 1 STRONG PROTEST.

The acutencss of the housing problem was further emphasised at the Trades Hall last evening, when a meeting of the Rentpayers' Protection League was held for the purpose of discussing the issue. There was a large attendance of both sexes, "standing room only" being available. Mr. R. Sproule, president, was in the chair.

The Chairman, in dealing with Mr. Massey's statements that the Government was overcoming the housing difficulty, and there was not now the same shortage, said conditions were actually getting worse and were extending through New Zealand. In Ohristchurch, where conditions had bqen fair up to some months ago, the position was now getting acute, and steps were being , taken to form a. Rentpayers' League. The shortage was even being felt in Waipukurau. Just to show thnt they were not overstretching the position, he quoted the following cases : —

(1) House, Tinakori-road : Rent £2 5s per week; five years' lease ; £100 bonus. (2) Berhampore : Three unfurnished rooms, rent £2 10s per week, £25 bonus. (3) Man and his wife decided to take up an apartment house, the man having just come out of hospital. Had to buy . a poor lot of-furniture at £235 in order to get possession. There a few months, and then got notice to quit. (4) Another'party paid £22 for furniture in order to get in, and at the end of three months had to get out. (5) Newtown: £35 asked for a few sticks of furniture. Tenant bought same i in order to get possession, and was ejected at the end of two months. ' (6) Brooklyn: Four rooms with poor conveniences and unfurnished. Kent asked £5 10s per week. (7) Three rooms and kitchenette, unfurnished, Oriental Bay. Rent £3 10s per week with £20 bonus. The landlords, he proceeded, were getting more grasping. Not satisfied with getting a greater rent they were asking for a bonus, and if they could not get that then they sold the prospective .tenant a few sticks of furniture. The worst aspect of the problem was the moral one. , Conditions were supposed to be good in Wellington-terrace, but they had a case in which an old lady, a son aged 27, another son aged 16, and a married daughter with a child of six years were living in' one room. Quite recently another party came to the association for assistance in trying to retain possession of a house. It was a case of a man and his wife with seven children. Suddenly the negotiations ceased. Later, when inquiries were made by the association the wife stated that the matter had been fixed up. Two of the boys aged 16 and 13 years ha,d been boarded out, and a friend had given one room at Thorndon for the huaband and wife and five .'children. THE LAW OF REPRISALS. Landlords, not satisfied with the Magistrate's decision in favour of the tenant, were adopting a, policy of persecution by continuing to summons tenants for possession. In* one case a man had been summoned no less than five times, though the tenant, had won on each of the previous occasions. Other landlords adopted the practice'of waiting Until the husband had gone and then approached and intimidated the wife. Again, they knew of a number of places that were vacant, the landlords refusing to let them because they could get higher prices for them now, and held for speculative purposes. As the landlords had adopted an aggressive policy the tenants would have to adopt similar tactics. They had decided as a start to post the names of certain landlords who were treating tenants unscrupulously. Prospective tenants would be able to get the list if they called. (Applause.) The secretary (Mr. H. Dyson) stated that conditions in the country districts were little better than those in Wellington. He' warned tenants that there was a big element of bluff in many of the notices of eviction that were being served, and that tenants should make inqiriries as to the legal position before they complied. The only solution was houses, and more houses, and they should continue the agitation until the problem was solved. A great deal of the- unrest that existed was due not to industrial causes, but to the increased cost of living and the housing problem. (Applause.) "A 'NO RENT' STRIKE." Mr. J. M'Kenzi&: "HiiS tli6 idea of a. 'no rent' strike been abandoned?" He contended' that if 400 rcntpayere in Wellington took the stand that they would pay no rent the whole system of eviction would breakdown. i The Chairman said that so far none of those who had received orders for eviction had applied to the association for further assistance. The association would give such assistance when it was sought for, and 'he thought it was now strong enough to succeed in enabling the tenant to stop on. Mrs. A. Catlow moved : "That this association calls on the Government to take active steps to relieve the acute housing shortage in the Dominion by pursuing a vigorous '' housing policy, and in the meantime to allowno evictions; also that the Government be urged to bring in a Bill making it an offence for any landlord, hotelkeeper, or apartment house-keeper to raise the question of 'have you any children?'" The motion was seconded, and after discussion was carried unanimously.