The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-10-27
BUILD A HOME, THE
 SOLUTION OF RENT PROBLEM, IS STATED
tContinued from Page Four)


 untenantable condition of the premises in question. In each of such cases, how ever, all the essential facts were ob- tained either in writing, or orally and transcribed. and the question also passed upon as to whether the rental charge was fair and just. Tn complaints concerning the condition of the houses where the rental charge was in line with an estimated fair return on the in vestment In the premises, the landlord was notified and requested to put the premises in gco5 h2bitable condition.
 We believe that in many scores of such cases the landlords and their agents have been made to see that with the new level Of rental charges. com mon right and justice would require that the tenants certsinly be made comfortable and allowed to live fully protected with reasonable co1veniences
 We have no doubt that in most cases of
 this class the repairs recommended were made and that a better state of feeling has been promoted between landlord and tenant.
 In the majority of complaints the ten ants appeared to be more concerned with the condition of the houses than with the increased rental charges. We found a prevalent disposition among tenants to acquiesce in a substantial increase of rents,. based upon the universal higher level of prices for commodities. They were insistent-and the board agreed with them-that the higher rents entitled them to live in houses in frst-class condition. And we take this means of asking your honorable body to appeal generally to the landlords of this city to bear in mind what we believe to be equitable and that is to see that the premises are put in good repair and so kept during the entire term.
 EXCESSIVE RENTS
 The board found some-not many-cases of what we adjudged excessive rental charges. After all, however, we wish to acknowledge that the fairness of any rental charge is only relative. What is the formula or standard for meas urlng a reasonable return upon the prop erty of house owner? On what basis should the justified gross rental be call culated? Of course the determining factor was and is the proper valuation
 The board had no better guide as 10 the percentage to be allowed as gross rental on any house than the experience of more than 100 widely scattered cities of the United States gathered by the United States Housing Corporation, an adjunct during the war of, the United States de- partment of labor, which showed the average of the factors making up various items of expense, fixed charges, etc These constitute the justified gross rental on various classes of residence property The board adopted this quasi-official table of factors.
 But the essential question remained, of course, as to the basis of the valuation. Should it be the cash market value That is the reproduction cost Or should we adopt the standard of the actual price paid for the property? in view of the fact that if we adopted the latter cri- tcrion the owner of> the property would | feel that it would be more profitable for him to sell on the higher market than be confined to a return on the original purchase price. and because of the diffi- culty of establishing the real purchase price last paid for the property, the board felt impelled and did adopt the basis of the present cash market value l of the property.
 COMMITTEE OF EXPERTS 1 And on this basis every house and lat and every apartment complained of was appraised by a bipartisan committee l of experts for the information of the board The board made it plain that l these appraisals were only tenta- tive and not binding, and that in cal culating the percentage thereof for the | justified rental, if it were found to be close to the actual rental charged by 1.-the landlord, the board. through other disinterested sources, reappraised the property.
 ] The board realized the great burden Iupon the tenant class, especially the sal Iaried men and women of this city, oc- casioned by the sharp advance in rents 1 We have found, however, that the ad' vance has been universal, and of course
 was caused by the practical cessation ol home building during most of the world war period. And subsequent to the wal 1 the unprecedented prices for labor ane building material have combined to keeI building at a minimum.
 1 Tn spite of the inexorable law of sup