The Washington herald., 1918-05-05
SENATE TAKES
RENT CONTROL
BILL UP AGAIN
Committee Reports Anti
Profiteering Law for
Consideration.

After nearly i've hours discussaon IN
executive session. the Senate District
Committee yesterday reported out tne
redrafted johnson Anti-rent Pronteer-
ing bill. Senator salisbury. q MEM
ber of the committee. undertook I'M
mediately afterward to have the SEN
ate consider independently section nve
of the bill which tends TO preserve
the present status Of landlord and
tenant, at least until Congress can
deal with the bill in fun.
There are rows and rows OF houses
on the streets of Washington" said
Senator Salisbury, occupied by ten
ants who face ejectment and Il Is to
protect this class Of short term ten
ants that ask the Senate to con-
slider this resolution. We want to
prevent these people from being
thrown out and continue their status
untfl Congress is able to concentrate
its attentions fully on the matter.
Rate Based on Value.
Senator GaIlinger objected to hav-
ing section five considered indepen-
IDENTIFY and the matter went over un-
til tomorrow.
In putting the final touches on the
measure, the Senate District Commit
tee amended section three, which
stipulates that the landlord may
charge the tenant not more than Z
per cent per annum on the value OF
the property, giving the landlord to
start on, a value OF one and one-half
times the assessed value of the prop
erty. For instance II a house is
valued at 1900, rent amounting to
: per cent Of 5000 may be charged.
this basis being one and one-half
times the assessed value.
The amendment to this section adds,
80 long as the present basis for tax
alton continues, but IL such basis Is
changed the value for the purposes Of
this act shall be changed accordingly,
so that the rent in no case shall eS-
ceed z per cent per annum Of the
actual value OF the property"
Section six. which permits an In
crease in rent OF properties which are
not bringing the Z per cent per annum
but does not say who shall authorize
the increase. was amended so as to
permit the Rent Administrator to in
crease the rent upon application Of
the landlord.
Part of section six reads, rents in
excess Of the rates herein provided q
per cent? are hereby declared void.
and il accrued or paid after the pas
sage OF this act such excess may be
recovered by the lessee, his assigns
or legal representative If action shall
be begun therefor within six months
after the expiration Of his tenure''-to
which was added by the committee,
in the case OF hotels or apartments
in hotels or apartment houses which
have not been rented to tenants on
or before October !. 1917, the rates
shall be fixed by the Rent Admins
traitor at the same prices as nearly as
may be as are permitted to be charged
for similar accommodations by hotels
and apartment houses of the same
character similarly situated in the
District Of Columbia"
Fixed Rates to BE Posted.
Section eight stipulates that the
Rent Administrator provide cards
upon which rates authorized by him
must appear in hotels, apartment
houses, boarding houses and all others
letting rooms.
Section nine is amended, allow
ing i've instead OF three days for a
tenant or landlord to appeal from
the findings of the rent admins
traitor. The board of assessors of
the District will not, according to
this amendment, hear the appeals
The amendment creates what is to
be known as the Real Estate Board
OF Equalization and Review and this
body is to hear and pass upon ap-
peals.
What was section fourteen was
entirely stricken out and a new Sec
ton put in This old section dealt
entirely with the amount of COM
mission to be paid real estate
agents for the sale of property, fix
ing per cent as the maximim
charge for sale or exchange and a
SIS charge Cif agreed to by both
contracting parties) on sales or ex-
changes under $1,000.
The new section. known as sec
tion fourteen reads: That any
house or building not occupied by
the owner or tenant for a period of
! three months preceding the pas
sage Of this act may be comman-
| deered by the President, for the
period of the war and six months
thereafter and used by the govern
ment for war purposes, the rentals
! and conditions of tenancy to be fixed
by the rent administrator in his
discretion"
Instead of appropriating $25.-
900 for the enforcement of act. the
committee increased this amount to
$4,000.