H.—ll.

SERVANTS' REGISTRY OFFICES ACT. There are 67 offices registered in New Zealand (last year 78). No prosecutions were necessary during the year for breach of this statute, and the offices appear to be satisfactorily conducted. The number of offices registered has deoreased from 110 for the year 1936-37 to 67 for the year 1939-40. FAIR RENTS ACT. This Act, the currency of which was extended by the Fair Rents Amendment Act, 1939, to]3oth September, 1940, applies to dwellinghouses that are let at a rental not exceeding £156 per year! It prevents any increase in a tenant's rent during the tenancy except where a fair rent is determined in accordance with the Act, and provides a means whereby in many cases existing rents may be reduced to a fair or basic rate. A number of major alterations were made by the Fair Rents Amendment Act, 1939, the chief being the extension of the application of the law to buildings constructed for letting as more than two separate flats or apartments, also to all flats or apartments not originally constructed for letting separately and to flats and apartments where parts of premises are shared. Power was also given to make regulations regulating charges for residential accommodation, and pursuant to this the Wellington Residential Accommodation Regulations 1939 (Serial number 1939/235) were issued. These had application within the City of Wellington, the Boroughs of Petone and Lower Hutt, and the Town District of Johnsonville, and continued in force until the 30th day of April, 1940. They were designed to afford protection during the period of the New Zealand Centennial Exhibition. The Inspector of Factories is empowered to act on behalf of any tenant in proceedings under the Act, and the following table indicates the extent to which tenants have availed themselves of the service of the Department's Inspectors : —

The total number of applications for the previous year was 5,730. The Department investigated seven alleged breaches of section 15 of the Act, which imposes certain restrictions on the letting or selling of a dwelliughouse where the landlord has recovered possession on the grounds that the premises are required for his own occupation ; proceedings were taken in five instances, convictions being obtained in four cases, and penalties amounting to £11 10s. were imposed. The above table does not fully indicate the extent of the work involved on the part of the Department's offices in the administration of the legislation. In numerous cases helpful advice is given to both landlords and tenants, and in this way disputes between them are often avoided. FOOTWEAR REGULATION ACT. During the year 488 establishments and 354 shipments were inspected under this Act, the latter in pursuance of the arrangement made with the Customs Department whereby all imported footwear is examined in the Customs shed before release. Inspectors of Footwear also examined footwear made for the Defence Services. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES ACT. The regulations under the Act provide for the reverification of weights, measures, and weighing and measuring instruments in use for trade purposes. The articles verified or reverified during the year are summarized hereunder:— Submitted. Incorrect. Weights .. .. .. .. .. 39,016 7,423 Measures .. .. .. .. .. 3,335 120 Weighing-instruments .. .. .. .. 25,162 3,366 Measuring-instruments .. .. .. .. 8,558 1,500 There were also submitted for verification 779,948 bottles—milk, cream, or oil. In addition to the reverification work referred to, the Department has carried out surprise tests of appliances on the owner's premises, the net-weight and standard-weight provisions of the regulations also receiving attention.

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Agreement under Cases where Fixation of Fair Kent involved and Inspector rp ft¥1(1 „t „ Q1 , rQanil f n ,i Section 21. appeared in Court on behalf of Tenant. b? Inspector in Total Owner's Application. Tenant's Application. Eviction Proceedings. Town. Number of . uuier Applications. A PP™ ved NotAp- .. . Rent reduced Cases. Tnsmnct/ir proved. Eent Bent woi!t below Basic Bent not . . „ inspector. reduced. justified. fered to" Be ntorJfair reduced. Section 13. Section 14. Auckland.. .. 2,313 1,428 28 64 25 5 25 3 250 14 471 Wellington. .. 1,720 275 21 55 11 4 42 5 205 52 1,050 Christchurch . . 660 331 45 2 73 2 2 3 13 15 174 Dunedin .. .. 258 81 8 2 2 .. .. .. 30 .. 135 Other towns .. 1,108 478 34 10 37 3 10 8 62 11 455 6,059 2,593 J 36 133 148 14 79 19 560 92 2,285 * These cover cases dealt with by the Department's officers without reference to the Court, in many cases involving considerable reductions in existing rents, or applications which were withdrawn as a result of the tenant vacating the premises, or for other reasons.