Evening star., 1925-01-19
MANY PROPERTIES
ARE FOUND VACANT
Petty Issues Statement on
Result of Recent Survey
in Capital.

III ~ fStk$Ats
There are today 1,724 vacant apart
ments and houses in the District of
Columbia and there are three times
as many of these for SIS or less than
there are above that price, John A.
Petty, secretary of the Washington
Real Estate Board, said in announc-
ing the result of the boards rental
survey in conjunction with the Wash
ington Building and Owners Asso-
citation to the subcommittee conduct
Ing the hearings on the proposed
Whaley bill.
Mr.. Petty showed In his analysis
of the survey just completed that S5
members of the 11S of the board had
reported. He declared they had been
instructed not to report apartments
or houses that might be considered
uninha bitable
In addition to the 1924 vacancies
now on the market, according to Mr.,
Petty, there will be by May /, by
reason of new construction, 76S addi-
tional apartments, which would raise
the total marketable amount of prop
erty during the next three months
TO 1852 apartments and houses.
Distribution In City.
OF the present total of vacancies
l,O92 are apartments. They are dis
tributed throughout the various sec
tions of the city, as follows: North
west 1901; Northeast, SO: Southwest,
IS; Southeast, So There are 969 un-
furnished heated apartments, 69 un-
furnished unheated apartments, 524
unfurnished houses, making a total
of 1862 unfurnished properties now
for rent, and there are 81 furnished
apartments and 108 furnished houses
now for rent
An analysis of the rental prices
shows 81 unfurnished apartments up
to S35 month; 246 unfurnished
apartments between s35 and $50; 4S6
between S51 and SIS: 100 from $56 to
800; 62 from S1G1 to SIPS: from
sl26 to $3.50. and II over $3.50.
This shows a total of $40 apartments
at less than $50: 4S6 at $51 TO SIS. or
total Of 796 listed for SIS or less, and
242 listed at about SIS a survey of
the unfurnished houses shows 24S
houses at $50 or less. and 293 houses
at over SIS.
Size of Apartments
The sizes of the apartments listed
+, are as follows: One room and bath,
| 80; two rooms and bath, 155; three
| rooms and bath, 433: four rooms and
bath, 230; five rooms and bath 131; six
rooms and bath, 644; over six rooms
and bath, 55.
The sizes of the houses listed are
as follows: Four rooms and bath. 19:
five rooms and bath, 27: six rooms
and bath, l64; seven rooms and bath
o4; eight rooms and bath, II; nine
rooms and bath. 6S; ten rooms and
bath, 49, over ten rooms 6s
1t was pointed out by Mr. Petty that
these returns are only those received
from the members of the two asso-
clations and do not represent those
that might be vacant in the hands OF
private owners or other persons.
List Up to Date.
From the facts to be presented
we expect not only to justify our
statement that there is no necessity
for rent legislation, but also to show
that the proposed bill will actually
prevent the accomplishment of the
very purpose for which it was de-
signed to accomplish" says the
statement of Mr.. Petty, in part.
One of the primary phases of the
subject of housing is the number of
housing units available for occu-
pancy. A complete statement show
ing the location, size and rental of
each property, as well as the name
1uTnlSheQ
the committee as evidence of the
existence of a plentiful supply of
housing units available for rental
purposes. All of the reports included
in this statement were received with
in the past 10 days and therefore the
| list can be considered up-to-date.
Study of Conditions.
I'm October we made a study of
a ,eI - i
um of questionnaire sent to our
| membership. One of the principal
| purposes of that study was to deter
mine the situation in respect to
| evictions and increases in rent. The
| reports when tabulated showed 1,l54
voluntary reductions in rent, as
| against BAT increases. There were
more than three times as many volun-
! tary reductions reported as there
were increases. None of the reduc-
tions reported were ordered by or
made through the instrumentality of
| the Rent Commission. This condition
| would not exist if there was ar
| emergency or shortage in housing
| accommodations. Two hundred and
ninety three of the three hundred and
| forty increases noted were for
amounts not in excess of so per cent
| of pre-war rentals. Out of all of the
sented, only rs notices to vacate were
served.
J while the Rent Commission has
| been imperative for several months
| the press has prominently mentioned
| only two cases of evictions. One was
for non payment of rent and II was
| admitted that the tenant had col
lected more money from her roomers
| than she was charged for the entire
property, and had failed to pay her
| landlord, and the other has alre ady
been shown to this committee to have
been practically a frame-up.' This
fact is very definite evidence that the
prediction of wholesale evictions by
certain leaders in the recent tenants
agitation was groundless. Lik kewise,
it should be noted that throughout
the entire campaign of propaganda
and publicity conducted by the ten
ants in the late Summer and Fall,
only three or four owners or agents
were mentioned in the press as at
tempting to increase rents or evict
tenants.
1.-The statement that 1000 evic-
tfons had been served and the subse-
ouent appeal to use the White House
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