Evening star., 1950-06-04
District Rent Bill
Faces Battle al
House Hearing
Supporters and Foes
Of Controls Beg for
Chance to Testify
By Harold B. Rogers

By Harold B. Rogers
Proposed extension Of District
rent control apparently is headed
for a lively fight in Congress this
week.
Proponents and opponents have
flooded the House District Com
mittee staff with requests to tes-
tify at O public hearing Thurs
day on a bill to continue rent
controls for another year. The
District act expires June 80.
Organized property owners and
real estate interests are planning
q strong fight to free all property
here from rent restrictions.
The House may act on a Fed
eral rent control bill by June IL,
and the Senate may wait to see
what the House does. President
Truman has urged Congress to
continue controls.
Virginia Increases Ordered.
Property owners in Virginia,
where rent controls end June 20
by State law. already are ordering
increases effective July /.
The hearing Thursday will be
held by the House District Judi
ciary subcommittee headed by
Representative Harris, Democrat,
Of Arkansas.
MIR. Harris said last night that
although a large number Of wit
nesses want to be heard, he hopes
to complete the hearing in one
day.
Refusing to commit himself on
extending controls, Mr.. Harris said
he wanted to survey developments
here.
Cogswell Cites Tenant Fear.
II believe" he added, that sub
committee members may be in
fiuenced somewhat by what Con-
gress does with national rent con-
troll legislation"
The District Commissioners al
ready have urged Congress to ex-
tend control on the basis Of a
recommendation of Rent Admins
traitor Robert F. Cogswell.
Mr.. Cogswell said last night
many renters have telephoned his
office to say they were afraid to
write him for fear landlords might
discover their complaints and
raise their rent even higher If
controls expire here.
Many callers expressed fear they
would be unable to find quarters
they could afford If forced to leave
their present places by excessive
rent.
Low-Rent Housing Still Needed.
Most of the new construction
in apartments and homes. Mr..
Cogswell said, are for the higher
level income group, and are free
of rent restrictions. There is a
shortage of housing for the aver
age income family here, he said.
The Commissioners recommen-
dation to Congress is to extend
the present District law, but to
exempt furnished non-housekeep-
ing rooms.
The Building Owners and Man
ayers Association of Metropolitan
Washington has issued a PAM
phlet presenting an eight-point
argument for ending controls.
Among their arguments briefly
are these: Rent control is con-
trary to the Nations policy. All
other price controls have been
discarded since the war. The
volume of new construction has
alleviated the housing shortage.
Controls have not produced q sin
gle additional room to help solve
the housing shortage, do not pre-
vent tenants from sub-renting one
or more rooms at relatively ex-
orbitant rates, is habit-forming
and Is unfair to tenants in un-
controlled units as well as, to
owners of controlled units.
The association claimed that
between 1899 and 1947 rents rose
in this area an average of less than
30 per cent while the "median in
come of tenants has doubled"
The association said if controls
are ended, rent increases will be
Offset entirely or in part by the
return Of a competitive condition
under which owners will be con-
strained to redecorate and give
better service