The Washington times., 1919-11-22
D.C.RENTSMAY
UMP25PCT.
Commission Likely to Decide
Such an Increase Over War
Period Entirely Fair.
By BILL PRICE.

By BILL PRICE.
The Thousands Of Washingtonians
who win turn for relief or justice to
the rent commission to Be named
By President Wilson rs soon as
Congress convenes win be deeply in
tsrested IN the probable methods to
- pursued by that body in arriving
s& conclusions as to what are fair
md reasonable reats in this city.
Until the commission is confirmed
- tAs Senate and begins its work,
4 viu MT b pesdble to determine
vtat wi1l - its standards - . basis
~ Axing rentals. One of the prob
lsns the eomn1issicu must solve win
y tAat very enc Of standards upon
whieh deeiEons may be speedily
rsaeAed In some quarters there has
bs0 grave doubt rs to whether
Standards en- be devised that will
haSe widespread bearing throughout
~ eity.
b 10 recognized, though, that this
win Be imperstively necessary, as
IL Win be impossible for the COM
mission to consider in detail each
separate rental case to be laid be-
fore Il II hearings had to be given
upon every complaint, the two year
q life allotted to the commission
wuold go by without even . small
psrcentage Of the cases having been
reached.
To Outline Policy.
An excellent authority on the sub
5ect. and he win be Identified with the
commission. II of the opinion that the
nrst steps of that body win be to work
out q uniform process by which prac-
ticaIly all cases submitted will be
handled. The Salisbury law remains
operative until two months after the
coRmfssion 10 confirmed. II win there
fore be necessary for the commission
to have Its regulations operative be-
fore the expiration Of that law that
extertions may be prevented or
tenants estopped from abuses against
landlords.
The authority referred to believes
that ths assessed valuations Of Dis
trict real estate made in 1915, and
upen which taxes were paid in 1911,
the year the United States entered
the war, must be taken as basis for
fixing rents. The rents in existence
1t that time would, Of course be con-
siAerod In connection with the valuA-
tiooA.
Two-tAir6s valuakiSa.
The assessed valuations are made
on q two-thirds valuation basis. In
1915, for instance. q piece OF improved
property, not q hotel or apartment.
which the law puts in . separate
class, was presumably worth $4,000.
II was assessed, on q two-thtrds basis
at SO, ,66a To the legal assessment
would be added 50 per cent by the
rent commission, bringing the value
of the property to Its real worth OF
$4,000. The rents paid on the prop
erty or similar property in lslI
would bs ascertained. To this rental
would be added about IS per cent to
allow for increased costs for repair
and upkeep Of the property due 10
the high costs OF the war.
Under this proposed plan there
would be something like q blanket
increase of IS per cent in rentals
throughout Washington over the war
period This would be the standard
upon which landlords and tenants
would have to adjust their, diner
enees. II landlord had imposed
greater increases than that upon
tenants since the war began he would
have to scale down to the Commits
stou's standard II a tenant had
evaded paying increases OF any KIND
he would have to Increase his pay
meuts to reach the standard set.
Dsaes Frsa Day sf Complaint.
II the two can not agree then the
commission would have to decide, ana
IL il important to remember that the
determination Of the commission
dates from the hling OF complaint,
aad that II q case II not settled Tor
years afterward In the court, either
the tenant or landlord must make
good the didenrences involved In the
Anal decision, which 10 in the nature
of a judgment against one or tne
ether The effect Of this, IL Is beliey-
ed will be to force tenants and land
lords to settle their troubles among
themselves and not take the chances
Of formal hearings and appeals 10
courts
As to apartments and hotels. much
tia same process will be followed as
to assessed valuation, except that
furnishings will have TO be consider
ed separately. In q furnished house
or apartment the plan would be to
obtain nrst the value OF the build
ing: then the original cost or value
Of the furniture, fxing a reasonable
rent upon this combination
This same authority says tnat tuf-
niture depreciates very much. e'ose 70
q rate OF so per cent year, anu I'm
this must be considered in all reckon
ings TO be made.
Many Ite0s IneiadeA-
In the case OF hotels and furnished
sUartments, the law authorizes the