New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-10-02
5000 Move
And 100000
Defy Owners


might be evicted:
Tenants who have been compelled
to sign leases since April 1 providing
for rent increases on October / are
not necessarily bound by these leases
Such tenants may remain in their
apartments, offer the old rent to the
landlord, and If he refuses to accept it
they can make him go into court and
prove that the new rent demanded is
reasonable Many of these leases were
signed under what amounts to coercion
Tenants signed because they thought
they would have no home to live in if
they didn't"
Denunciation Of tho rent laws by
the Real Estate Board was contained
in statement issued last night after
Il meeting of the board of governors.
The statement reads:
"The board of governors of the Real
Estate Board of New York held a spe-
cal meeting this afternoon to discuss
the landlord and tenant legislation
enacted at the extraordinary session Of
the Legislature.
ats council submitted report where
in it was held that several of the more
important of the recently enacted
measures were unconstitutional and
others were invalid for other reasons
1T was determined INN ediately to
institute test cases in the appropriate
courts to determine the validity of
such OF the acts as are open to attack,
and committee was appointed to take
preliminary steps to carry this plan
into effect, with full power to secure
the cooperation of other real estate
organizations and individual property
owners interested, with full power to
employ the entire means and energy
and influence of the Real Estate Board
to attack and, if possible, to defeat in
would operate to confiscate property
rights and unlawfully suspend the con-
stitutional rights of property owners.
Landlords Threaten Suits
ut was further decided 20 suggest to
the members of the board that they
notify their tenants that if the laws
suspending the right of eviction by
summary proceedings and for the re-
covery of rent are determined by the
courts to be invalid, tenants unlawfully
holding over or refusing to pay agreed
rents will be held liable for any loss or
damage that may be suffered by their
landlords.
SeCTSs
tary to bring to the attention of the
Mayor the fact that the chairman and
counsel Of his rent profiteering com
mittee are quoted in the public press
as privately and publicly advising
tenants to defy the law respecting the
binding effect of leases and other rem
tai agreements laid down by Justice
Lehman in the Supreme Court in the
case of Palermo Investing Corporation
vs.. Katz I12 Misc, 242), wherein the
court held:
"A fundamental principle of our
government embodied in our Federal
Constitution is that the obligations of
contracts lawfully made must be pro-
tected and the states are expressly for
Ridden from passing laws which i'm
pair the obligations of contracts.
1T is true that parties cannot, by
contract, obtain vested right to in
Jure the public or divest the legisla-
protection of the public or the i'd
vancement o. the general welfare. but
the sanctlty Of contractual obliga-
tons, lawful in themselves, must be
preserved and the legislature cannot
give to party to q contract; binding
when made, an option to tender in
satisfaction of his contractual oblipa
ton an amount smaller than he agreed
to pay
Outcry False Alarm
1T is now generally realized that the
landlord and tenant legislation passed
at the remarkable session which be-
gan on September 20 was based on
false premises and on the ASSUMPTION
that thousands Of evictions mentioned
hrst as 10000, later as 10000, and still
later as 1000 600 would take place on
October I.
"rhe joint legislative housing COM
mlttee was advised that this was not
ire case, that the cutlery was q false
alarm and the tenants were amply
protected against the consequences Of
such notices to quit as had been IS
sued, for technical reasons which ev-
cry intelligent legislator should have
understood
AT the public hearing on the dav
before the most radical of these laws
were passed, counsel for the Real Es
tate Board Of New York called atten-
ton to the fact that families served
with notices to quit on October need
not fear eviction for at least wear
after that date and that this radical
leglsiatlon was entirely unnecessary.
Attention was also called to the
fact that the proposed legislation
would precipitate bitter competition.
and even enmity, between tenant and
tenant.
1T is also a fact that wealthy ten
ants who had secured leases three or
four years ago at low rentals will be
the beneticiaries of this legislation.
passed ostensibly to help the poor. and
will be in a position to take advantage
of the landlord
Eve rythine outside of complete So
cializstion of real property for the
purpose of protecting tenants was done
by the Legislature at its regular SEES
sion. What remained for the Joint