Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-04-28
RENTERS Of HOMES
ALLEGE HARDSHIP
Must Buy Houses at Exorbi-
tant Prices or Move,
They Say.
UNABLE TO FIND REFUGE

Permanent residents Of Washington.
especially those outside the govern
mont servioe. have been thrown into .
state OF anxiety a. the result Of being
threatened with having their homes
sold over their heads. with no others
available. II IL Widespread. and Affects
every householder in Washington who
does not own his own home. or 10 not
protected by q long lease.
This condition, 1t appear1 developed
after tho announcement Of the bill in
Congress directed against rent prof
iteerA II Is claimed by many that the
owners Of rented properties. especially
those renting from $40 to $50 monthly
heretofore, attracted by the widespread
demand for houses for the vast num-
ber Of clerks that arc being brought
to Washington for government work.
have presented to their tenants the
proposition of buying the houses they
occupy at exorbitant prices and on
terms far beyond the means Of the
average worker. or vacating them
scribed in the landlord and tenant law
for the District
Tenants Without Option.
II this were but limited to few cases.
In ordinary times. It 10 explained. the
tenant might have some option In the
matter; but with the present conditions
due to tho war he has none, for there
for miles out in the suburbs and nearby
country.
Property that the owners heretofore Of
fered at figures ranging from $4,000 to
valuations set upon 1t by the owners, up
to prices soaring into five figures. In a
few instances tenants are offered their
homes for cash payment varying from
5000 TO $1,000 and monthly payments:
Including interest and commissions" Of
from $3.50 upward.
Not many Of the renting class in
Warrington. 1t 10 claimed. can make
the cash payment without borrowing.
and even then many have not the
more, the man who has heretofore paid
from $40 to $50 q month rent IL ap-
paIled at the thought Of monthly pay
ment0 Of almost 80 per cent more, with
taxes and water rent in the distance
staring him in the face.
Financial Difficulties Noted.
Tho financial difficulties Of the situa-
tive, because II the tenant does not wish
to buy At the terms stated he IL given
q thirty-day notice to quit, and there
10 no other place to go.
A renter thus threatened states that
In a weeks search for a house to
shelter his family, both on foot and in
the automobile Of q friend, he has been
unable to flnd q single house for rent. not
even miles distant from the center Of
at houses advertised for sale he found
people in the same plight as himself and
some Of them tearfully desperate. At
one place the woman who answered the
AIA IT, -
ing the house for twelve years. paying
S25 q month: that the agent demanded
$4,000 for 1t, with cash payment of
$500 and monthly payments Of $3.50:
to borrow It. and that monthly pay
prohibitive.
At another place was found a woman
who was supporting an aged mother and
an tmbecile sister with what she re-
ceived from room renters and boarders
and had been doing SO for nine years.
Her home had nine rooms and her
monthly rental had been $40. She was
now confronted with q demand to buy
at $500. with a cash payment Of $1,000
and monthly payments of 5000.
Renewal Of Lease Refused.
Still another. who had been paying a
rental OF $3.50 for three years and had
had this rental increased to 5000 last
year, had been refused a renewal Of his
lease at $3.50 a month, although he
was offered the option Of buying q ten
year-old six-room house. not In good
repair, for $4.s50, with q cash payment
after Of $3.50.
It could not have been sold a year
ago for $4,000. and in normal times
would be considered far from a bargain
at $4,000. for it occupies all the ground
that would go with it.
Some tenants already have been set
out Of doors: others have tried to put up
a legal tight to stave of the evil day
for couple Of months; still others
are engaged In 4 mad chase through
Maryland and Virginia in the hope of
finding q habitable homo they can
rent or even buy upon terms within
their means. while others have lapsed
into q state Of despair and are hoping
against hope for some relief.
Appeal Made to Congress.