Evening star., 1943-07-07
CurbIsProposed
On Sub|etting
D. {. Properties
Rent Control Unit
Seeks to Protect
Landlords, Tenants

Two new regulations to control the
subletting of housing accommoca-
tions here. Ernest F. Henry, chief
attorney for the Office, disclosed to-
dav
One of the proposed new orders
would require an owner to give
seven days notice to all Subtenants
before dispossesSing the person to
whom he originally rented the
property
The other order would require all
persons offering to Sublet apart
ments or houses in return for the
purchase of furniture to submit
copies Of their newspaper advertise
ments to the rent control office in
advance of publication.
1t would be required that all such
ads contain the individuals name,
the address of the property and the
amount of the rent ceiling. The per-
son proposing to sublet to a furni-
ture buyer would further be required
to send the ORIGINAL landlord state
ment of the contemplated change in
tenancy.
Provisions Drawn Up.
These provisions are now being
drawn up in proper legal form and
probably will be issued by the Dis
trict rent control administrator soon
as general orders" Mr.. Henry in
dicated.
Purpose OF tightening the restric-
tions on subletting, the attorney
said, would be to stamp out prac-
tices. through which humber OF
subtenants and landlords here have
been victimized.
Because of the scarcity of apart
r,ents here, home hunters some
times buy furniture for several hum
dred dollars more than it is worth
n order to get a place to live. MI.
Henry said. He added that a few
spectators" are believed to make
& business of locating apartments,
furnishing them and then Sublettlng
TO persons willing to pay a high
rrice for the furniture.
Practice Is Common.
In many cases. advertisements Of
fering to sublet to a furniture pur-
chaser may be legitimate, Mr.,
Henry emphasized. A number OF
people going into the Army take
this way of getting rid of their fur-
niture in a hurry. he said.
He also said. however that there
have been cases in which SubtenantS
after buying the furniture and tax
ing possession of the apartment
have discovered that the person who
sold the furniture had no right to
sublet
Situations like this. Mr.. Henry
explained. work hardship on either
The sub-tenant or the landlord. A
landlord NAV have hundreds OF peo-
ple on the waiting list for an apart
ment. only to find that one OF his
tenants has moved and some not
particular rlv desirable person is oc-
cupying the place as a sub-tenant.
If the landlord then demands pos
cession. the sub-tenant finds himself
without an apartment and burdened
with a lot of furniture he doesn't
want.
Landlord Suffers, Too.
II the landlord permits the sub
tenant to remain in the apartment,
he NAV have to turn down the appll-
cation of some one with prior right
end to whom he would prefer to
rent.
The proposed new regulation, Mr..
Henry said, will not prevent sub
letting in exchange for furniture
purchases. but will discourage all
hut bona -fide cases. BY requiring
advertisements of this type to state
the maximum rent ceiling, the Rent
Control Office will block any sub
lessor from pleading ignorance of
rent ceilings when called to account
COR an overcharge There is at
present a tendency to avoid the
Rent Act through subletting, he
said.
The requirement for notice to
landlords will enable landlords to
know what is going on in their
houses and will give them an oppor-
,unity TO make objections before,
instead OF after, Subtenants have
moved in
The other contemplated order, re-
nuiring a weeks notice to all sub
tenants before an owner can reclaim
his property from an intermediate
landlord. was first considered by
the Rent Control Administration,
Mr.. Henry said, because of case in
which l6 families of Subtenants
we're evicted from five houses with
out notice because of failure of the
intermediate landlord to pay his
rent to the owner.
. Families Need Protection.
There is great need for this
order to protect families in low in
come groups, the rent office attorney
said.
He pointed out that in many cases,
PARTICULARLY in the poorer sections
of the city. persons who have rented
s. house from the owner will Sublet
part of the building or will take in
1,Dmers or boarders.
Often when these landlords are
served with notices that they must
correct viola tions of health or safety
laws, they decide 1t is cheaper to
move the tenants out than to pay
ior the necessary repairs.
Under the present law, Mr.. Henry
cointed out, the owner is required
to give no notice to the sub-tenants
before dispossessing them. If the
person who rented from the owner
1sils to pay his rent, the owner can
FIRING eviction proceedings against
+ i'm. and then can take possession
cf the property.
Frequently, some of the sub-ten-
p.,ts do not know of the eviction
proceedings. and have no time to
find other places to live, Mr.. Henry
s2id.
The proposed regulation would re-
euire that the landlord give notice
to sub-tenants by posting notice
on the premises. This, Mr.. Henry
said, might give the sub-tenants
time to find other homes, or might
enable them to work on the inter-
mediate landlord" and get him to