§ 119. Mr. WATTasked the Secretary for Scotland whether his attention has been called to the fact that premiums are being asked by and paid to house factors and house owners in the larger towns in Scotland in order to get entry to smaller houses of less than £30 rental; that this is contrary to the recent Increase of Bent and Mortgage Interest Act, 1915; and what action, if any, he proposes to take to put a stop to this practice?
§ Mr. MUNROAn exaction of the nature mentioned would appear to be contrary to the express provisions of Sub-section (2) of Section 1 of the Increase of Bent and Mortgage Interest (War Restrictions) Act, 1915, and where such payments have been required the amounts may be recovered from landlords or deducted from the rents payable to them. As regards this matter, aggrieved tenants have therefore the remedy in their own hands. I may, however, take this opportunity of saying that complaints have reached me which lead me to suspect that in some quarters attempts are being made by house owners or factors and bond holders to evade other 398 restrictive provisions of the Act. If these attempts are persisted in, I may require to consider whether further action is necessary.