44
Wednesday, October 31, 1973
He added, however, that "there are overriding reasons of community
interest which require this mechanism to be suspended for the three-year
life of this Bill."
On the rents of currently controlled tenancies, Mr. Lightbody
said that in some cases the rents were fixed when there was a plentiful
supply of accommodation and they have been held back by previous rent
control legislation.
The Bill would rectify this situation in a controlled way. The
rate of increase, at one-fifth of the difference between the existing rent
and the fair market rent at a two-yearly interval, would close the gap
between regulated and fair market rent in about 10 years, if the proposed
legislative control was extended beyond 1976, he said.
He noted that of the 160,000 tenancies controlled by the 1970
Ordinance, over 80 per cent of the landlords and tenants reached agreement
on rent increases and did not inform or consult the Rating and Valuation
Department.
"Clearly the great majority of tenants use such legislation as
a bargaining weapon and prefer to reach their own settlement with their
landlords, and this is to be welcomed provided such bargains are freely
reached," he said.
He also noted that a new provision of the Bill was the requirement
for landlords to issue a receipt for every rent payment; the maximum
penalty for failure to do so being a fine of $2,000.
/This was