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3.
Various complaints were received by the Government.
In
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one case the purchaser of ahotel property proposed to double the
whwell to rent. In another case the owner proposed to charge a rent higher
than that of superior property in the immediate neighbourhood, and
which, on the figures submitted by the boarding house keeper, might very well have had the effect of obliging her to close the boarding
house. In a third case the purchaser of two houses in which a
boarding house was carried on proposed to give the boarding house keeper notice in order that he might use the house as a residence for himself and his family, although the family were already housed elsewhere in the Colony.
4. In the first two cases the owner had probably been tempted to make use of the fact that a boarding house keeper can seldom afford to move, and that in the present congested state of the Colony it is practically impossible to find new accomodation for European boarding houses.
5. One object of the ordinance is to prevent undue pressure of this kind being placed upon boarding house keepers, but the main justification for it is the danger that such pressure might result in boarding houses being closed, and this waldbe a serious metter to many persons who cannot find houses or who cannot afford to pay the rent of a house. This main reason for the legislation applies with equal force in cases such as the tree instances mentioned
third
above in paragraph 3.
6.
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The point was raised as to whether some protection should not be given to the guests against undue charges by boarding house keepers, but as such charges involve questions of the hire of fur- niture, the cost of food, and the rendering of personal services, it was found impracticable to limit such charges.
7.
In my opinion this is an Ordinance to which His Excellency the Governor may properly assent in the name of His Kajesty and on His
behalf.
7
Attorney General.
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