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on the increased cost of the property.dudėwners and farmers of house property have in many cases taken advantage of the short-
age in an unconscionable way.
6.
the
The Ordinance endeavours to attack two subsidiary factors referred to above. It does so by fixing a standard rent, and by providing that tenants in actual occupation may not be ejected so long as they pay the standard rent and comply generally with It also attempts to deal with the terms of their tenancies.
one cause of the shortage, i.e.., the influx of refugees, by providing that the present occupiers may not be turned out to
not In order to discourage make way for strangers to the Colony.
building, it provides, ineffect, that buildings finished after the commencement of the Ordinance shall be entirely free from
the rent restrictions of the Ordinance.
many
Apparently/landlords
The date chosen for the purpose of ascertaining the stand-
This date was taken ard rent is the 31st December, 1920. because rents generally were already high at the end of last year, and in a great number of cases there have been excessive
increases since the end of last year.
raised their rents in anticipation of the proposed increase in
the the rates, which was provided for by 'resolution of the Legisla-
That resolution was tive Council made on the 7th April.
rescinded on the 30th June, in accordance with a previous an- nouncement by the Government, but it was extremely probable that
the rents which were raised in anticipation of the increased
મ rates would not have been lowered again upon the rescision of
cision
the resolution. Other increases of rents had obviously no
Certain of
relation at all to any increases in the rates.
the property owners suggested that the rents in force at the