Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-10-13
EDITION
New Code Proposed
On D. c. Apartments
Adoption Of Rules
To Await Airinu
BY City Heads

~ OUy nSUuS
Proposed regulations to govern
operation of Washington apart.
ment houses were disclosed today
pending a public hearing by tht
District Commissioners.
They call for registration o.
the name of each tenant Of
every apartment" in books ''oper
for inspection by the Chief oil
Police on demand" and woulS
require resident managers in all
apartment houses with five o.
moN apartments.
No date has been set for
hearing on the proposed apart.
ment house regulations, which
would become Chapter 6 of the
Districts eight-chapter Housing
Regulations.
This action was provided fol
when the overall regulations
which include the District Hous.
ing Code as Chapter Q, were
adopted and put into effect Sep
tember /, 1856.
Director Cabell Gwathmey of
the Department of Licenses and
Inspections SAID drafting of the
apartment house regulations
had been under way about three
months. The present version, he
added, has been approved both
by his department and by the
Health Department.
10000 Buildings Affected
He estimated the proposed
regulations would affect some
10000 apartment houses in the
District, and that most oppose
ton would be stirred by the re-
quirement for resident managers
in all houses with more than
five apartments.
A survey of 7,943 apartment
houses. Mr.. Gwathmey said, in
dicates that more than as per
cent would be affected by the
resident manager provision. He
ldoes not know, he added, how
many of these now have resi-
] dent managers and said there
may be pressure to set the fig
ure at six or seven apartments
instead of five.
However. he declared, "gen-
lerally, those with more than five
are getting into the class where
they have to have a resident
manager to get by, anyway"
/ Mr.. Gwathmey said 1895 per
cent of the apartment houses
surveyed have three units; 39.46
per cent have four: per cent
have five, and 42l2 per cent have
more than five apartments.
Buildings with less than three
units are not classed as apart
ment houses.
| Specifically incorporated into
the new apartment house regu-
lations are the provisions OF
Chapters one. two and three of
the overall regulations. These
cover Interpretation and defini-
tons. general provisions gov
Ierning all residential housing
(which require heating in all
residential buildings, waterproof
floors for toilets, etc., the hous-
ing code itself (Which sets stand
ards for light and air in all
housing, limits crowding and
establishes minimum conditions
for plumbing and maintenance
and general licensing regula-
itionS.
Other Chapters Listed
Chapter 4 lists special licens-
ing regulations on rooming and
boarding housing. Chapter 5
covers tenements and tenement
houses. Chapter 7 affects hotels
and Chapter 8 concerns con-
valeScent or nursing homes.
i The proposed chapter on
apartment houses requires that
operators be licensed and that
they be residents of the District,
or name agents who live in the
District.
1t would give licensed operators
five days to establish registra-
ton books for tenants "in which
shall be written in English the
name of each tenant of every
apartment in the apartment
house together with the number
Iof the apartment :"
4 And, it specifies, Whenever
there are five or more apart
ments in any apartment house,
or apartment development con-
lsisting of group Of buildings,
there shall be a resident man.
ager who shall be registered as
required by Section 3106 of these
regulations"
This requires the manager to
register within five days with the
license officer Of. the local police
precinct. and let's the police
chief reject the registration if he
determines that such person is
not of good character"