Suc—Could some clever person explain to me two points in
this Housing Repairs and Rents Bill ? (1) Why is a Local Authority allowed to increase the rents of its houses, while a private owner is refused this permission ? (2) Why is the special permission to a private owner restricted to owners who have executed repairs within the last three years ?
Houses erected by Local Authorities are more. modern than those belonging to private owners, and thus have had rents fixed at a higher level than those belonging to private owners. What has the period within which repairs have been carried out to do with the question ? If an owner has kept his property in a good state, his houses will not have needed much repair in the last three years.
There are, I may add, many provisions pro- tecting the tenant, e.g., prescribing a maximum increase, giving him access to the County Court, and (for council tenants) to a " tri- bunal." Why, I may ask, should there not be a similar appeal by a landlord to the County Court for the fixing of a fair rent ?—Yours faithfully, J. E. ALLEN 2 St. Peter's Terrace, Cambridge [With regard to question (2) above it is understood that this point is likely to be raised again in the committee stage of the Housing Repairs and Rents Bill.—Editor, Spectator.]
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