New Britain herald., 1929-08-17
TREATMENTS TO RENT

remarked he had tenement to rent, I'm not the only property owner with 8 tenement to rent" he added; T see plenty of to rent signs, and it seems to be the same in Hartford and other cities hereabouts."
 The gentleman seems to be right. Apartments for rent strike the gaze along every street; on some streets there are so many of them on view that one is inclined to sympathize with the property owners, although that is not popular with tenants.
 If such a condition applied only to New Britain it would be some what alarming; but it doesn't The same story comes from nearly every other city. And the increase in popu- lation here continues, as the post of flee can testify Where, then, do the former renters of apartments live?
 This is question that cannot be answered off hand. During the hous- ing shortage of some years ago many people lived in what they were pleased 10 admit were temporary quarters. Later a host of apartment and tenement buildings went up, and these were filled more or lees Now there is still further development, and the records show that the most popular construction unit is the single dwelling. These are going up in the outlying districts in amazing fashion. It is quite probable that these draw from the apartments, es- pecaIly the better class of apart ments. There being all sorts of single and double buildings constructed, it also seems logical that the owners of all sorts of apartment and tene- ment buildings feel the brunt. There are few single buildings of any class that remain unoccupied for long, ac- cordlng to reports.
 Certain officials have declared that the city is overbuilt. If that is true here, then it is true in other cities also, for the same conditions arc uni versal. But that does not mean that the city is permanently overbuilt. What is a present condition may be noneXistent year or two hence. A certain percentage of empty apart ments and tenements is considered normal by some observers: before the war there were plenty of them, even in busy communities.
 Rents descend under such circum- stances; that is to say they react to reasonable level. That tendency has been noticed for several years. It is the social method of evening up a condition that for some years was detriment to thousands of people who were forced to pay more for rented quarters than they were jus tlfied in paying. It is an axiom in realty circles that when a man pavs as much or nearly as much for a rented home as it would cost 10 carry home on the purchase plan he may as well do the latter. It begins to look as if this realization has become quite widespread. and it IS being coupled with action. To fill tenements it will require a scale of rents that can compete with the cost of carrying homes-that, at least, is what plenty of observers as- sert after due study.
 How is this to be done? That is a question that is not easy to answer. It is common knowledge that the costs of erecting tenement houses and apartment buildings must be carried for the owner by those who live in them. If the rent money goes below a certain figure the landlord loses. Buildings that were erected during a high cost period and which under the circumstances would be amortized during period of years, manifestly cannot stand low rents before that period is up. Empty apartments, however, amount to the same thing. Call it rationalzation, normalization. deflation or whatll you have, and the result is the same
 Meanwhile new structures are go- ing up in the outlying sections and they are being bought and occupied with rapidity. The building records bear eloquent testimonials to this species of progress. A good wind for one is an evil wind for another, however. Yet that has always been the case, only we notice the ill wind more easily under some circum- stances. A few years ago the ill wind bore down heavily upon the citizens of moderate means who were all but mulcted in their endeavors to find suitable places in which to live. The wind has veered, and these are the gathers and ultimately will gain more as the years pass. The ill wind blows hard upon those who furnish @d the enterprise at a time when it Was badly needed and erected build lnGs which were destined to relieve q poor housing situation. Life heinz