The Washington herald., 1918-07-26

Many complaints come 10 the chair
man of the District of Columbia House
Committee. Representative Ben john
son OF Kentucky. about rent difficult
ties. The following letter which Mr..
johnson sent to one woman who ap-
piled to him is of interest to tenants
and landlords, inasmuch as 1t states
that one who rents an apartment is
entitled to heat and water quite as
much as to occupancy. Another point
is that when heat is not furnished the
landlord is responsible for the results
of his failure to provide the heat
II the tenant must seek a warmer
apartment the landlord must ray
the bill. II sickness or death result
from lack of heat the landlord is re-
sponsible in the same way that a
railroad is responsible for results Of
carelessness. Likewise the landlord
by virue of the contract that he las
with tenant must lay in a supply o.
coal now that he may fill his contract
in the fall. The letter follows in
part:
Extracts from Letter.
IT am just in receipt of your letter
Of yesterday as asking my opinion or
advice as to what you should do about
the threat made by your landlord to
the effect that he would not furnish
heat for your apartment next winter
unless you pay more rent.
First, I think you should consult
your attorney and not me, because l
have to do only with making the law
and have nothing whatever to do
with its application or execution.
However. l will tell you, as fol-
lows, what think about the matter:
Under a recent act of Congress,
which was approved by the President
May 81, 1918. your landlord can not
eject you as long as you pay him
for that which you have agreed TO
pay; viz, occupancy. heat and water.
by threatening to freeze you out
of the apartment next winter he Is
not only attempting to do indirectly
that which he can not do directly.
but Is endeavoring to accomplish by
illegal methods that which he can not
accomplish by legal procedure. No
court making the least pretense to-
ward justice or equity will permit
him to take advantage of his own
wrong. Your landlord must not only
continue to furnish you with the oc-
cupancy, but he must continue to
make that occupancy possible by con-
tinuing to furnish the other things
cheat and water) which he has con-
tracted to furnish, and for which he
now wishes you to pay, not once but
twice. He will not be permitted to
make the occupancy impossible by
denying the heat which he has con-
tracted to furnish.
by your contract Of lease you have
not agreed to pay a specific or fixed
sum in payment for occupancy. an
other fixed sum in payment for water
and another fixed sum in payment for
heat. Instead. you have agreed to
pay $35 a month for all three COM
bined.
Could Deduct from Rental.
II, by any sort Of unusual means,
you could dispense with such heat
or water as may be denied by your
landlord. then you could deduct from
the rental the value Of the item
heat or water-which your landlord
may refuse to furnish. If your land
lord should make the occupancy by
refusing to furnish heat next WIN
ter he would be answerable to you
in damages to such an amount as
you might sustain as a direct re:
suit of his breach Of contract.
whenever the apartment should
become unbearably cold because of
his breach of contract you could
go elsewhere for comfortable shell
ter and compel him to reimburse
you for any reasonable and neces-
sary expense Incurred because of his
breach of contract
During any temporary absence
from the apartment caused by the
landlords breach of contract, you
could leave your goods and chattels
in the apartment, retaining the key,
and go to the apartment frequently
as evidence that you have not
abandoned 1t permanently, thus
peserving a legal occupancy of the
apartment.
II, as a direct result Of the land
lords breach of contract in not fur
nishing heat. you should be compelled
to leave the apartment. even tempo
rarily. to find comfort or to protect
your health. you could recover from
him such sum as reasonably and
necessarily you may have expended In
purchasing that protection and COM
fort elsewhere than In the apartment
Or. You could withhold such sum
from the rental. and the court would
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