AN INTERESTING POINT

New Zealand Times, Volume L, Issue 11664, 31 October 1923, Page 6

AN INTERESTING POINT

LANDLORD v. TENANT.

CAPITAL VALUE OF HOUSE.

A point that will no donibt he of great interest to both landlords and tenants throughout New Zealand was discussed yesterday during the hearing of a case before Mr E. Page, b.M. The facts were that a claim for arrears of rent was made l>y a landlord (the plaintiff), against a + enant who had since vacated the premises. When tho tenant was served with the summons, she served plaintiff with an application to determine, the capital value erf the premises under the War Legislation Acts, the objects being to arrive at the standard rent, which the tenant claimed was an amount less than the claim.

Mr Meltzer (counsel for the plaintiff) submitted that under ilia war legislation, the tenant had no power to make such application, in that she had vacated the premises, and was therefore not tho tenant at the time the application was made. The magistrate remarked that this was the first case of its kind in W ellington, and although he felt that the defendant had the right to have the standard rent fixed, he would not at that juncture undertake to decide tho point raised by Mr Meltzer, which, he admitted, oertatinly seemed to have some foundation. •

Tlio position, therefore, is not yot decided as to whether a person who had vacated a house retains the power to make an application to a magistrate to determine the capital value.