The New York herald., 1922-04-16
SAYS MOST STUDIO
FLATS VIOLATE LAW
Official Warns Lenders to Be
Wary of Non-Housekeeping
Apartments.

For the benefit of discriminating loan
ing companies Tenement House COM
missioner Mann has prepared a state
nient in which he calls attention to the
Various types of dwelling houses con-
structed or altered, the plans for which
should be carefully scrutinized before
mortgages are placed on them.
Under the classification of two fam
ily store dwellings, Commissioner Mann
has this to say regarding their desira-
bility from the standpoint Of the mort
gage companies:
This class OF building Is not easily
susceptible to conversion into an Illegal
tenement house, but In many instances
is deliberately planned. constructed or
altered with the special purpose In view
to evade the tenement house law and
then to violate 1t, or to enable subse-
quent purchasers to do so. Instances
| have been cited to me where the pos
sibility to putting In a third family was
offered as an inducement to the pur-
chaser to invest In the property"
Under the heading OF studio or bache-
lor apartments, or the so-called non
housekeeping apartments. he says:
"a great many of these buildings are
of new construction, particularly In
Manhattan. In Brooklyn and the other
boroughs they are found mostly among
former private houses which have been
altered into so-called "non-housekeep-
ing apartments" In the experience of
the department a conservative estimate
is that 80 per cent. thereof violates the
tenement house law by illegal CONVEX
sion into tenement houses by having
three or more families living on the
premises Independently of each other
and doing their cooking therein.
"In this type of house there Is no
question in my mind but what the OBJ
ject of nearly all the owners Is to pro-
vide conditions In evasion of the law to
make It possible to occupy them ille-
gally Immediately the job is COM
pleted. They have their plans filed
and approved upon the declaration
that the house is intended 70 be oc-
cupied by not more than two fami-
lies and the rest of the building by ar
ranging 1t in a number of non-house-
keeping suites Of one, two and three
rooms, and in many instances they sur
reptitiously install the very facilities
essential and necessary to do cooking
upon the premises without the knowl-
edge Of the Building Bureau or any
other department. All of these houses
are virtually fire traps. since they have
no means of egress for the occupants OF
the upper stories in case OF fire except
the stair halls. Even the firemen find
difficulty in gaining access to these
houses when a fire occurs therein.
"The present housing shortage has
been a prolific source and On inducing
cause of this character OF alterations
and construction. Mostly all OF the
class Of buildings above enumerated
have violations pending In this depart
ment for Illegal conversions.
II am calling attention to these con-
dltions of the title companies, bond and
mortgage companies, life insur ance COM
panies savings banks and ell individuals
who loan money on bond and mortgage
warning them to be careful TO scrutinize
more closely any applications for mort
gage loans on this character OF con-
struction and alteration, even though
they come from reputable people and
reputable concerns. since In such cases
these concerns cannot control the ac-
tions of their tenants. regardless OF the
terms OF the lease, In bringing about
what II termed an illegal conversion into
n tenement house. even agairst the VIII
and wish OF the owner. Though In
many cases, repeat. the owre- provides
every facility to enable the tenant to
do II.
.sThese Ioaning institutions and In
divlduaIs can assist immeasnrably In
maintaining better housing conditions
and Al preventing violations such as
above enumerated IL they arc especially
careful OF such risks AMI will refuse
loans whero evasions of the tenement
house law are obviously intended from
the arrangement OF the plan and where
the arrangements are such thas they are
susceptible without difficulty Of such
illegal occupancy.
The Tenement House Department
will be glad 60 cooperate with and assist
such loaning institutions. IL they care
10 avail themselves OF the offer, by
bringing the plans 10 tho Tenement
House Department. where the chief In
spector Of the new building bureau in
the respective boroughs viii gladly take
them up for consideration and pass
upon them as 20 what Is the obvious
intent 10 be spelled out from the ar
rangcment and layout Of the plan
itself"