Evening star., 1942-07-26
Hearing Will Sih
Variance in Rent
At Apartment Units
Revision of Schedule
After Bargain Rates
CompIieotes Problem

The Capitals mushroom growth,
which has been responsible for the
practice of moving families into new
dwellings before the plaster is dry.
has tossed into the lap of Robert i.
CogsWell, District rent control adj
ministraJor, the most complex prob
blem his Office has had to face since
it was opened last January l.
Mr.. Cogswell announced yesterday
he had reserved the Anacostia High
School auditorium at Sixteenth and
H streets Sc. and was summoning
more than 750 tenants of Greenway,
an apartment development at East
Capitol street and Minnesota avenue
Sc, to attend hearing at pm.
on August II on petitions filed
against the tenants by the manage
ment of the apartments. The devel-
opment is owned by Greenway, Inc,
of which Morris Cafritz is president.
Mr.. Cafritz, oddly enough, does
not want to raise rents. In fact,
some of the petitions he has filed
with the rent administrator ask that
present rents in the development be
reduced. And he has signed pledge
that whatever rent ceilings Mr..
Cogswell may order after the mass
hearing, none Of the present tenants
need fear increases in their rentals.
Reason for Hearing.
The reason for next months hear
ing, which will mark a departure
from the usual practice of holding
sessions. in the rent control office
at 1740 Massachusetts avenue NV,
goes back to March of last year
when Mr.. Cafritz's firm began build
ing the first of the more than 750
apartments which are now fully oc-
cupied.
That was more than two months
after the freezing" date set in the
Districts Rent Control Act. Under
an order issued by Mr.. Cogswell on
February 2 of this year, fair and
reasonable" rents for dwellings
which we're not occupied on Janu-
ary /. 1941, would be assumed to be
the first rent payment made.
Mr.. Cafritz determined his first
rental scale while the apartments
were still in the blueprint stage.
His first idea was to erect something
in the low-cost housing field. But
before his first group of buildings
was completed he had completely
revised his ideas and added such
attractions as parquet floor, all
electric kitchens, spacious laundry
accommodations, parking area, play
grounds, and park.
The first tenants moved in before
he could get around to revising his
schedule of rentals, but Mr.. Cafritz
permitted these rates to stand. He
did, however. set new scale of
rentals for identical apartments in
the groups of buildings that went
up afterwards. In fact, before the
sixth and last group of buildings
was finished last January, he was
forced to make further upward re-
visions in rates.
Tenants Compare Rents.
The result was that tenants began
comparing their rents and discov-
cred that some were paying as much
as $6 and 81 more for identical
apartments. Inquiries began COM
ing into Mr.. Cogswell's Office. Six
tenants filed formal petitions against
Greenway, Inc, asking for deter
mination of the legal rent on their
apartments.
To settle these disputes. and in
accordance with Mr.. Cogswells
warning that landlords should not
rely on their first rents as being
the legal rents for places not occu-
pied on the freezing" date, Green
way. Inc, filed petitions against all
Of the tenants through the law firm
of Whiteford, Hart e. Carmody.
Along with notices of the petitions.
each tenant involved received a sup
Elementary statement in which the
management promises that mo in
creased rental will be charged any
tenant as long as he or she con-
tinues to occupy his or her apart
ment."
According to John J. Wilson of the
law al liz Vic IllSllcSI IcIlIS charged
for any Of the units at GreenWay
are reasonable and comparable to
rentals elsewhere. Mr.. Cafritzs po-
sition on earlier rates fixed, he said,
is that tenants enjoying these low
rentals are getting a bargain" The
fixing Of the low rates in certain
groups, he said, was "a mistake" the
benefits of which the present occu-
pants will continue to enjoy.
Greenway comprises 10 buildings
with II units in each. The whole
project was built in six groups be-
tween March, 1941, and January of
this year. The management is seek
ing ceilings of $53 on one bedroom
apartments and $63 on two-bedroom
units.
According to Ernest F. Henry,
general counsel for the rent admin
istrator, it was decided to hold a
joint hearing because Of the large
number Of petitions involved and
because Of the similarity OF the cir
cunnstances among all the cases. AL