The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-05-05
TRICKS or RENT DODGERS
New York Agents Forming a Pro-
tective Association.

Much Trouble and Expense Attend
Dfspossessing Undesirable Persons
Some New Buildings padded, to
Deceive Prospective Purchasers.
Property owners and real estate agents
OF the upper West Side are about to form
protective association. the principal OBJ
1ect OF which shall be the publication at
stated intervals of black list giving
the names OF undesirable tenants The
agents and owners of the cheaper class
of tenement and apartment houses have
felt the necessity of such an organization
Tor long time. In order to protect
themselves as much as possible, many
agents have become members Of the Re-
tail Merchants Protective Association. or
the assumption that a man =hs will not
pay bills for his household expenses will
not pay his rent
According to the agents the number of
persons of the class who find 4, cbeaner
10 move than pay rent" is increasing COM
inensurateiy with the growth of the CITY.
anu although the majority of agents de-
hiahu tahd geD excellent references. there
are Few VINO do not find, at the end OF the
year, some bad accounts on their hooks
The safest kind of reference say the
agents. Is that of the previous LANDLORD,
of the prospective tenant But. even with
that assurance. the agents have to take
chances. because, as one of them plain
lively remarked today, sometimes a land
lord would rather lie than admit he had
been duped." Failing the landlords guar
antee. recommendation from a business
mouse or a bank is generally considered
under the head of excellent
sometimes, and the agents say that it
G.1d
into an anartment or fiat without giving
any references at all. A case of this sort
is said to have happened last winter
tenant drove up to a certain apartment
house on the East Side with load of
furniture and began to move it into a
vacant fiat When the janitor asked his
authority for occupying the fiat the
would-be tenant treasured him by telling
him that he had arranged everything with
the agent. When the agent heard of the
transaction. the story goes, he was nom
plussed- The tenant was in possession
and refused to move. 1t would take con-
siderable time to dispossess him and the
police refused to interfere. Eventually,
the agent secured the services of a car
penter, and. under the pretence of max
ing repairs, they effected an entrance TO
the fiat. The carpenter then was instruct
ed to remove the front door and a couple
OF windows As it was winter time, the
landlord gained his end and the squat
ters moved out.
Real estate agents who have heard this
story, however are inclined to doubt the
truth of IT. They admit that there are
persons bold enough to acquire a resi-
dence by the simple process of squat
ting, but they are unanimous in saying
that no ianitor In New York could be
fooled by any such procedure. As one
agent expressed it, Such a fool janitor
couldn't hold his job five minutes
A case somewhat similar to that related
above happened recently on the West
Side. but in this case there were twenty
families to be ,evicted. speculator
bought a tenement house for improve
ment- The building was fully occupied
and the tenants refused to vacate- They
offered to pay their rent, but the landlord
wanted to get a better class of tenants.
and refused to accept it. He had to re-
move every window and door in the house
before the undesirable tenants would get
out. Two obstinate families remained in
the upper floors. but the landlord finally
got rid of them by having the floor i'm
mediately below fumigated with sulphur
fumes.
The majority of those who want to live
without paying rent take advantage of
the special inducements offered by the
builders of large new apartment houses,
uptown. The builders find II hard to sci,
a me houses r unless tney are FULLY occupied
order to get tenants the agents are au-
thorized to give two, three, and sometimes
four months rent free The tenant pays
one months rent in advance and receipts
are given to him for the rest. When the
stipulated time of the free rent expires
number of the tenants who choose to live
in this manner keep putting off the agent
OF the purchaser, on one excuse or an
other. until they are finally dispossessed
and their furniture is carried out to the
street. The tenants, having learned from
experience. the agents say. have antici-
pated this action. and al about the time
the furniture is put the sidewalk a van
drives UP and the furniture is removed
10 another of the large new tenement or
apartment houses, and the same perform
ance is gone through. The tenants save
the cost of transporting the furniture from
the fiat to the street.
Agents complain that this is quite Il
common practice, and certain families
have been able to live quite pretentiously
for years on an annual expenditure of
perhaps 500 or $500
1t is said that a certain class of un-
scrupulous builders make habit of filing
up new buildings with friends. to whom
they give mCathly receipts for a fairly
large rent. receiving in reality only such
a proportiOnate sum as will defray the
penses. BY virtue of the apparent receipts.
the house is sold at a good figure, and
the next month the tenants move out. The
owner cannot compel them to stay, and
is left with idle property on his hands.
This practice of padding is not prac-
ticed extensively as in former years,
but it is still carried on to such an ex-
tent as 20 make 1t wise for prospective
purchaser to enquire into the character
of u landlord, as well as of the tenants,
before he speculateS i'll improved real es
tate.
To such an extent has the practice of
film TANNING" agents grown that one
large firm which makes a speciality OF
renting flats employs a man to do nothing
else than look up the antecedents of en-
quiring tenants. Immediately an applica-
ton is made this man visits that portion
Of the city last occupied by the applicant,
and. by making judicious enquiries among
the butchers and grocers of the neighbour
hood, gets information as TO the charac-
md df he mill mn To-
far harder job to get rid of a bad tenant
than it is to get hold of good one" re-
marked an agent. Our only recourse Is
to dispossess, and that costs all the way
from s3.50 to $50 and sometimes it takes
months to accomplish it.''-New York
Evening Post.