New-York tribune., 1899-05-28
TROUBLES OF LANDLORDS
RENTDODGING NOT CONFINED TO ANY
PART OF THE CITY.
HOW COMPETITION MAKES LIFE EAsf
FOR DISHONEST TENANTs-Ho" ~
MOVE FREE OF COST.
Then out viz go, bag. baggage and bratl


MOVE FREE OF COST
uave viz the rtnt7 Nor
Then out yix go. bag baggage and o'a''
anv one who Is at all familiar with old-time
,nelodrama will recall the picture In the scene
where the hard hearted landlord demahos "''
money threatening eviction II 1t is not ior'hoo'
ing The poor tenant was a much-apuseo peiS
in the eyes OF writer's who appealed 10 'he sa'
Ieries and there is no doubt that he Is still not
without some justification for sympathy. But the
,ardlords of the present time say that they nave
troubles Of their own.
This is an age of keen competition III pusi"e'''
fact which has given rise TO an entrey he"
nhase of the renting subject. According 10 thoSe
who have property TO rent they have their own
grievances and II the sympathetic play swiie"'
will inst come down TO the orchestra staiis he
will find an appreciative audience there mace up
of brokers owners and builders, for all three "''
more or less affected by the situation iheie 10
lust a touch OF humor in 1t, too lor' NAe t
small boy each one of these is innocent ae'
ing to his own account. and insists that II Is ~
fault Of "the other feller." The dodgihs Oh ~ Ie's
has become an occurrence common to all sections
NJ the city and It is affecting the holders oi al
kinds Of pronerty.
The general public has an idea that this sort ol
thing is done only in the tenement olsric's ., "a
the lower East and upper West sides' i"eY w.
doubtless be surprised to learn that some peop'e
who live in fine houses in streets adjacent 10 tie
tssh,onable avenues are also rent-dodgers In the
strictest sense of the term 49,
why are you giving up your house so soon!
asks Mrs Blank OF Mrs. Dash, when the FURNITURE
van drives up in the early morning hour
And Mrs Dash, who is at the END or one OF
two months term Of residence makes some vague
remark about unsantary conditions. or possibly
SAYS that John finds the house Is too far from MS
business Now, the fact is Mrs Dash has prooa-
bly been evicted for non payment OF rent.
But the innocent will ask: Doesn't she have to pay
her rent in advance? She does not. thanks to the
comnetition among agents which has led TO ad-
yertisements that offer free rent for month or
more as an inducement to tenants. Mrs Dash mas
accepted the hospitable invitation The agent ls
patient and waits until the middle OF the seco"o
month perhaps. before demanding MS money
When he finds that he has been deceived in the
character OF his tenants. he serves a notice 10
move and when the month is up they go forth to
seek other pastures new and agents green
HELPED BY THE AGENTS.
II NAV be asked why the expense Of moving does
not deter people from practising this confidence
game The competition for tenants Is so great that
the agents frequently play right into the hands or
dishonest people by not only giving the rent free.
but by also providing vans and paying the expense
Of the moving. In the of flats and tene-
ments that are for sale, another peculiar prac-
tice is common nowadays. the purpose OF which
is TO deceive possible purchasers as to the desra-
biity of the property The broker. in order to con-
vey the idea that his houses are desirable for in
vestors not only fills them with rent-dodging ten
ants. but frequently makes it appear that the sum
paid for the at house is greater than the actual
amount
In the case OF fiat that rents ordinarily for
$40 the receipt will be made out for s25 and the
prospective buyer who looks at the tenants re-
ceipts estimate values IS deceived. After he
has bought the property 1t not infrequently hap
pens that he presents the tenants a bill at the
end OF the month for the amount which the re-
ceipts indicated their monthly rental Then
a fight follows. and once again the tenants get
an excuse for moving similar practice IS
habtual downtown in new office buildings which
for sale In some of these all sorts OF induce
ments are made TO people TO take Offices, and
free rent for long six or seven months is
a bait that has been held out more than once
The buildings appear TO be doing. thriving
business, when in reality large share OF the
income is purely fictitious. Some OF the brokers
and agents freely admit that these sort of condi-
uons exist, but say that as long as others do IL
they are forced TO resort to the same methods TO
protect themselves and to secure business. They
say that some Of the brokers come to their tenants
and by the species of bribing that has been de-
6ere aso wose T such mat
they are not obliged to go into competition Of this
system Of doing business would seem to be some
sort OF cooperation on the part OF the persons
hG W All have e1os vacant which 6a1 they cn are
Is apparently an mpossbility.
SOME CAUSES OF THE EVIL
The following which is quoted from a report OF
the University Settlement Society, seems applicable
only the East Side, but to other parts OF the
city we'll
Rent-dodgng is increasing. and In proportion as
II increases II becomes more and more tempting.
Though rent-dodgers suppose that by not paying
rent they simply reduce the incomes OF their land
lords. and though the public agrees with them and
often 1ustihes their action on the ground that land
lords are generally rich and tenants generally poor
yet, In fact they always in the long run. live
free at the expense not Of rich landlords but of
their poor felow-tenants. 1t is generally admitted
that the East Side landlord expects to collect
for only nine ten months in the year; that Is,
each apartment In his house is on the average.
either vacant or more often. occupied but paid
for. during two three months each year. Ac-
cordingly. he charges per month not one-twefth,
but one-ninth one-tenth of what he decides he
must collect during the year.
No one, TO be sure. expects landlords TO collect
rent from all their apartments for every month OF
the year; often they would do better to keep apart
ments vacant month rather than let in tenants
well known 10 other landlords as very undesirable.
Occasionally they should let some good old tenant
1--we rent free for several months when he is too Ill
10 work. But landlords should collect rent from
all their apartments for eleven months more.
instead OF nine ten.
Experience has proved repeatedly and conclu-
sively that the landlord makes most money when
ne or his agent shows an interest in his tenants:
when he learns something of their past before he