21 SEPTEMBER 1945, Page 12

THE HOUSE PRICE RACKET Sm,—House-owners are not necessarily rapacious profiteers.

I happen to own a house on the borders of Middlesex and Hertfordshire. It has been used by the Army for most of the war period, and is now occupied by four families. I am unable to realise at a fair valuation ; with any other form of investment I might do so at the market price. I am refused any increase on the pre-war rent in conformity with the reduced purchasing power of money. There is no question that all available housing accommodation should be fully used for the homeless, but I submit that the obligation of providing for these unhappy people should rest with the community as a whole, and that there is no ethical justifi- cation for penalising in any way those who happen to be house-owners.