The Wilmington morning star., 1940-07-28

Ol SI11loA Gil. Liz PAoPot
ton is greater than this average
for every rent group under $40 a
month. Those rent groups exceed
ing $40 a month show a decreas-
ing proportion of families with chill
dren as the rents rise. Since the
greatest number of units rent for
from S. to SIS a month, it is nat
ural to find the largest number
of families, regardless of their re-
spective sizes, in these rent groups.
It is interesting, however, to note
that. as the size of the group in
creases, the proportion paying low
rents increases. Thus while 1877 per
cent of these groups containing one
and two people pay from S. to SIS
a month for rent, STA per cent of
the groups with seven and eight
people pay from S. to SIS a month
for rent, and 66.5 per cent of those
with nine and ten people pay these
low rentals.
"Greatest Problem
1T is manifest that Wilmington's
greatest housing problem is to be
found among that largest part of
it's tenant population which lives
In low renting units. From the
large proportionate occurrence Of
undesirable characteristics among
these low-renting dwellings, two
conclusions can be drawn; first,
that low rentals are maintained in
Wilmington by the perpetuation of
adequate conditions; and second.
that inadequate conditions r toll
Grated because of an inability to
pay the higher rentals that ade-
quacy demands, and profit is to
be realized"
Sizes Of Houses
Persons planning to erect houses
for rent will find the following ex-
cerpt from the report of interest,
for it indicates the size of house
in Wilmington which is most sell
dom found:
The five-room dwelling FREEDOM.
mates in Wilmington, accounting
for PA per cent of all units. The
four and six room units, respec.
lively are next in order of fire.
quency, the former representing
20.2 per cent of all dwellings units
and the latter 1913 per cent. 1r
addition, 1876 per cent of all dwell
ings consist of three rooms. The
remaining dwellings sizes, ranging
from n to those of eight or more
rooms, represent less than 10 pei
cent of the total units in the city
with the one room dwelling occur
ring in less than one per cent oil
the cases and the eight or moro
rooms in 8.8 per cent of the total.
1.-THE proportionate occurrence OF
the different size groups varies with
owner and tenant occupancy. Thus
while the greatest number, amount
ing to almost o%ne-fourth of all own
erS, lives in 6 room houses, mos
tenants fall into the four or five
room size groups, with a slightly
greater number in the four room
units. Only 40 per cent of owners
occupy. dwellings of three room:
or less, while 1913 per cent of the
tenants occupy units of this size
The median size for all dwelling
in the city is five rooms, tina
for owner is six, while for ten
ants it is four. Although owner
occupy only 31.6 per cent of al
dwellings, they represent 66.7 pei
cent of all units containing sevel
rooms or more. Of all owners IS.
per cent live in units of five o
more rooms, but this is true O
only 45.5 per cent of the tenants.
The acreage size dwelling uni
varies considerably with the typ
of structure thus. Although the fly
room unit predominates both il
city as a whole and among singh
family detachful structures. TIL
three room size unit is most pre-
valent in all other type structure
The exceptions are the two famil.
two decker and the four famil.
double decker types, which repor
almost 1000 dwelling units in Viii
mington, and which average fou
rooms. Among the 300 odd dwell
ings units listed as ''other non-con
verted" types, the two-room uni
is average.
Units with four rooms or les
show a greater proportion in tn
poor conditions categories tn a
larger units. Almost SO per cen
of all dwellings in Wilmington con
tanning one to four rooms are il
poor condition, as compared witt
1872 per cent of those units witt
five or more rooms. Although on
to four room units represent al.
per cent of the city's total, the.
include 59.7 per cent of all dwell
ings in poor condition. In general
each successive size group report
a decreasing proportion of unit
in poor condition. White familie
report slightly greater proportion
in the one and two room units thai
negroes, whose largest proportion
ate occurrence in the three, ~fou
and five room units. The proper
tionate racial occupancy a m o n
units of six rooms or more is ia.
greater among white than among
negro families. However, negroe
occupy over half of all three ant
four room units, although their to
tai occupancy represents onl.
1874 per cent of all units in vii
mington.
CUNTS of from n through three
rooms report a median rent O