CHARGES MADE FOR FURNITURE
UNREASONABLE DEMANDS PROHIBITED (From Our Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, August 21. Pointing out that the Fair Rents Act prohibited charging an unreasonable amount for furniture or fixtures in any dwelling, the Minister of Labour (the Hon. P. C. Webb), in reply to a question asked by Mr Clyde Carr (Lab., Timaru) in the House of Representatives this afternoon, had something to say about the practice of getting a prospective tenant to purchase furniture as a condition of the tenancy.
Mr Webb pointed out that under the Act every person committed an offence who stipulated for, or demanded, or accepted as a condition of the tenancy of any dwelling-house to which the Act applied, payment for furniture, fixtures or other effects of any sum in excess of a fair selling value.
“While business on an excessive charge is prohibited,” commented Mr Webb, “permission to include the sale of these articles as a condition of the tenancy, is, in some cases, desirable. There will be many cases where furnishing and fixtures, such as floor coverings, blinds and curtains, will be of particular value in the house in which they are installed and practically valueless for removal to any other house. The inspectors are authorized to investigate any complaints made about breaches of this section.”
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Bibliographic details
Southland Times, Issue 24211, 22 August 1940, Page 8
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215CHARGES MADE FOR FURNITURE Southland Times, Issue 24211, 22 August 1940, Page 8
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