LEGAL INQUIRIES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23166, 12 October 1938, Page 26

LEGAL INQUIRIES

MANY PROBLEMS SOLVED This column appears each Wednesday. Care will be taken to ensure that the legal guidance is sound and accurate and as complete as possible on the • facts supplied, but no responsibility is undertaken for the advice or information. Send questions to "Advocatus," care of Editor, New Zealand Herald, Auckland, and enclose name and ad- . dress al guarantee of good faith. Postal box numbers are not accepted as bona fide addresses. Initials or a pseudonym must also be given for I purposes of- reference in the column. 'RJB.C., Thames.—ln the absence of specific agreement a landlord is under no obliga--4u i repair a house let by him, and the tenant must put up with the state i or repair, no matter what it is, or vacate tne premises. A tenant is not entitled to stop payment of rent because a roof leaks. the tenant died the tenancy ? 18 "'"lives did not thereby become the tenants, but since they con- ™ to occupy the house, they were in and J«W are entitled o < ?"?io U p from them damages which would prgpSty e l u,valen t to the rent of the Ya MMM^ 0 »« 0n K bether licensed or not, is entitled to shoot over your property without your permission. This is 60, irresuecVve of whether you have put up a notice not. 4 prohibitioß O ' shooting or

° U <3 wou |f receiv e no benefit .v, Soclal Security Act until you reached the age of GO years. You would £7B uer° vear Cnt r t H ed k" aKe beneftt of ™L P „ r , year * reduced by £ J for every pound of your income over £l3u. At the years . i' ou «ould become entitled benefit enm^ 1011 ' T he - Bu Per-annuation rate nf ™™ mences on .'}P"l 1, 1940, at the ui. year, with an increase of £2 Jos a jear for each subsequent year up to o f, f7 9 a >'car. Since 'you y -ii wo children under the age of Wok? w i entitled to any family benefit under the Act.

V.T.—By Order-in-Council. the at?r«#mi.ni T^i C oif d anrt U fh n v® New ' Zealand Farmers' TtS «2 *VL W Zeatond Workers' wnrk?J h. rea K nK ,he . wa «s of dairy-farm •nni S be , en The new scale * p Py®? al i k ® *O. males and females, and must be observed unless an under-rate permit has been obtained. Where the farmer provides board and lodging, the weekly rates, wiUj those of last year in parentheses, will be as follows.—Workers under n-t - 17 but under 18 \ 18 but under if. -CX £ «21 s under 20 > £i i9s ,!d \%} 6d>; 20 but under 21, £2 6s (£1 ««)> 21 years and upward, £2 12s rid if?. Where the worker is not pro▼idea with board, the above wages are increased by 2s 6d, and in addition the worker receives^ the board allowance of 17s J? er -( he increase is to be retrospective to August 1, where the worker is still employed by the same employer at the date of the Order-in-Council. It is questionable whether the Order-in-Council will affect the wages of workers on sheep and farms other than dairy farms, which come under the Act. By agreement, the wages o, these workers were to follow those paid Jo dairy farm workers, bnt with a limit in the case of workers of 21 years and upwards of £2 5s a week. No mention was made of a limit for workers under the age of 21 years, resulting in a somewhat anomalous position. Cowboy.—See answer to V.T. Anxious.—See answer to V.T. Constant Reader.—Yon are entitled to the full statutory wage for an adult dairy farm worker. See answer to V.T. Plants.—No. Chaldo.—The position depends upon the nature of your contract with the insurance company. If you have agreed to pay the premium la London' in English currency then exchange must be added to New Zealand currency at the rate of 25 per cent. Presumably, in the event of death, you would be entitled to be paid in English currency, which would be increased by 25 per c»nt when paid in New Zealand currency

FM.E.—(I) If there is no time specified in .the contract with the council and you arc given reasonable notiiy terminating it, you will not be entitled to claim any compensation or damages. (2) The Fencing Act does not apply to unalienated Crown land. Therefore where your land adjoins such land, yon cannot recover any part of the cost of fencing from the Government. K.K.—(l) The position has arisen by reason of the fact that you have not made a return of land. You are entitled to a mortgage exemption in yonr case up to £2OOO and, since this exceeds the unimproved value of your farm, there would be no land tax payable by you. (2) You can give your wife a second mortgage oa your farm, securing the £7OO advanced by her. Such mortgage, although for a past consideration, will be valid unless you com- . m:t an act of bankruptcy within three months of the execution of the same. (3) The usual amount added by the Income Tax Department to a farm labonrer's wages for board where the labourer is kept is l~«s a week. On the other hand, where the farmer is making a deduction from his income for wages and board, the usual amount allowea in connection with the board of a farm labourer is 10s a week. It is open to the farmer to prove that the actual cost of keeping a labourer is more than this. The reason for the difference is the fact that such outgoings as ratflsj insurances and others are paid by the farmer whether he keeps the labourer or not, but in arriving at ttie figure to be charged against the labourer the labonrer gets the benefit of these payments. Wondering.—Yonr procedure would be- to apply to a magistrate, through the Magis. trate s -Court, for an order fixing the lair rent of the premises. The magistrate would allow from 4 per cent to 6 per cent on the total capital value of tne property, rates, insurance, repairs and depreciation. # 8 «? y * , S,n i*,7°F «?° not Btite the value of the land it is impossible to estimate what rental might be fixed.

E *V ,—Th ?., ma ?, * UI no * entitled to divorce his wife in the circumstances that / yon relate, no matter how long they are *5? j For separation to be effective as a Srtbnnd for divorce it must be based on mntnal consent, a Court order or an agreement, or desertion by the party against whom the decree for divorce is claimed. Wairpa.—Trees may not be planted "on or alongside a boundary without the con#f 5 «'ft? adjoining occupier. The precise definition of "on or alongside" nas not as yet been ascertained. It has, however, been held that trees planted two wet away from the boundary are not "on or alongside the boundary. The above does not apply to shrubs. It is impossible i® & y d JI w J! 1P y hard and fast rule as to the distinction between a shrub' and % ffie is a factor. Alsq the nature of the growth of the plant and whether it makes wood or not, and whether it has a substantial trunk or not, are other factors, but none of them is a determining factor. Each plant must be dealt with separately, and it is possible that it may r£J». tre U? 0M district and a shrub in J,y%' If trees are planted on or along®*dethe boundary action must be taken within six months of the planting in order , ty. l®ke advantage of the remedy provided by the Fencing Act. If action <s r«iniw win within that period, the only remedy will be if the trees grow up and become a nuisance at common law. A tree will be a nuisance at common law if it projects over the boundary and causes actual pecnniary damage.

Relief.—lt has bees ruled by the Court of Review that a mortgagor must continue to pay his interest and other outgoings, in so far us his. income permits it, while he is waiting for the final decision of ths Conrt. Wondering.—The costs of a share-milking agreement are a matter of agreement between employer and share-milker. If you have not agreed to pay any costs, your employer cannot compel you to pay them. Honey.—(l) In the absence of specific agreement the landlord is under no obligation to ensure you an adequate supply of water. (2) You are not entitled to deduct the cost of repairs that you have done to the house from your rent unless the landlord agrees to this. 'Loobey."—(l) Once a district has been constituted a rabbit board district, all settlers in that district are liable to pay rates levied by the board. A district 18 so constituted b,v a petition signed by the majority of the ratepayers being presented to the Governor-General. Each of such ratepayers has the same number of votes as he could exercise at an election of a member of a county council. (2) By virtue of the Drainage Act, lr>oß, all drainage boards have n drainage easement over all the land within their districts. Before constructing any works through private lands, however, one month's notice in writing must be given to the owner thereof, who has the right to object. Upon objection, the matter must be referred to a dhly qualified engineer, and his decision shall be final. •'SeaclifT."—The Fair Rents Act applies, and • you can neither raise the rent nor obtain possession of the premises without a magistrate's order, made on one of the grounds under the Act. The only possible ground which seems to apply is that the tenant is guilty of conduct that is a nuisance and an annoyance to adjoining occupiers, and it is doubtful whether their conduct goes to this extent. "Marriage."—One party to the marriage must nave resided three full days in New Zealand in the district where they are to be married. The other party to the marriage will not require any residential qualification. "Wondering."—There is a scale of fees to be charged by solicitors acting for mortgagors on relief applications. In your case the total fee will approximate i-'O tts, which may be increased according to the distance of the place of hearing from the solicitor's office, and the length of time spent on the hearing. Onehunga.—From the income that you receive from the house you can deduct rates, insurances. interest on any mortgage, repairs, including papering and painting, and the cost of repairing fences, in order to arrive at your net income for old age purposes. J.W.—lf you are permanently incapacitated for work by reason of rheumatism contracted in ]New Zealand, and have resided continuously in New Zealand for 10 years, you will be entitled to the invalidity pension.

Digger.—lf you have not agreed with your employer to pay rent for the cottage in which you live, he is not entitled to cliarge you rent. He may. of course, at any time state that you must pay rent or vacate the premises and, provided he gives you reasonable notice, you must decide for yourselves what you propose to do. Your employer could not, however, claim rent prior to the expiration of such notice. 8.1.8., Health.—The Fair Rents Act has now been extended for another year from September 30. It applies to the premises you occupy. Your rent cannot be raised without a magistrate's order. Your landlady is not entitled to enter your premises without your permission. If- there was any negligence on your part you are responsible for repairing the window. Otherwise you are not. The payment for gas is a matter of arrangement between yourself and your landlady. You have acquiesced in the position for a number of years and must be presumed to have agreed to it. If you are not satisfied yon should make a fresh agreement. Anxious.—Unless the building was originally erected to be let as more than two flats, the Fair Rents Act applies and you cannot force the tenant to vacate except on one of the grounds set out in that Act. The only ground that appears to apply in your case is that the tenants are guilty of conduct which is a nuisance or an annoyance to adjoining occupiers. In this matter you are treading on very delicate ? round and should be very sure of your acts before you make any allegations. Your best course is to consult a solicitor. Worried.—Unless you can show that the amount of maintenance allowed to yon by your husband for the children is inadequate, your husband is not liable for any debt that you incur for necessaries for the children. Country Reader.—Bee answer to' V.T. The worker will have to make his own arrangements "with his employer with regard to payment of rent for the house and for extras. Bulldog. —For the purpose of the invalidity pensions the term child" in relation to an applicant means a child under the age of 16 years, and includes a step-child or a child legally adopted by the applicant prior to the date of his application for a pension. In addition to ttie above the commissioner may regard any child who is in fact maintained by the applicant aa if such child were a child of the applicant and dependent on him. This latter provision would apply in your case.