$2.26 per room, per month, it should be remembered that the company only receives eleven months' rent in the year. The twelfth month's rent is devoted to interior repairs in accordance with the plan adopted by the Sanitary Improvement Company at the outset of its operations in 1898, at the suggestion of the present writer. Under this system one month's rent in each year is devoted to interior repairs, and if no repairs are needed a rebate is made of the entire month's rent. The tenant has thus a special inducement to take care of his flat and when repairs are needed he has the choice of making them himself or of reporting them to the agent, who has them made and charges the cost against the rebate. The tenant certifies in the bill that the repairs have been made and are satisfactory. At the end of eleven months the agent inspects the flat and causes all necessary repairs to be made, whatever balance remains after paying for these repairs constitutes the rebate to be deducted from the twelfth month's rent. This method insures excellent care of the premises, as it is in the intereest of the tenant to make the bill for repairs as low as possible, because it comes out of his "rebate." On the other hand the agent of the company insists that all repairs must be made before the balance, if any, from the twelfth month's rent is paid to the tenant. In 1907 the Sanitary Housing Company built twenty more two-flat houses on M street southwest. At this time the cost of labor and materials had considerably advanced. The plans adopted also involved a greater expense for construction, and when the houses were completed it was found necessary to fix the rentals at $8.00 per month for two rooms and bath; $11.00 for three rooms, and $14.00 for four rooms, or an average of $3.72 per room per month. These flats are occupied by white tenants. The rooms are of good size and conveniently arranged, as shown by the plans. (Figures 31, 32, 33 and 34.) Attention is especially invited to the large kitchens (15'87%" x 14') in the three-room flats. The tenants use this kitchen also as a dining room, and they find that in the three-room flats the fire in the kitchen range heats the whole flat, thus reducing the cost of fuel to a minimum. The two-room flats were built as an experiment, but it was found that the cost of construction was considerably greater in proportion to the number of rooms than that of three and four room flats. This is due to the fact that the plumbing, bathroom fixtures, range, etc., cost as much for a two-room flat as for one containing three, four or more rooms. It was necessary to fix the comparatively high rental of $4.00 per room for these two-room flats. Evidently the persons occupying them must use the front room both as bedroom and sitting room. It would seem that in the interest of economy this might often be done by a family of two. Eight dollars a month for an independent apartment of two rooms and bath does not seem excessive, and it is a distinct saving for a young married couple, or old people without children, or a widow, to occupy a two-room apartment at this rate rather than a three-room apartment at $11.00 monthly rental. In considering these plans and rentals, the value to tenants, of the porch in the rear of the upper flat should be given due consideration; also the cement FIRST STORY PLAN OF HOUSES BELONGING TO THE WASHINGTON areaway between adjoining houses, as shown in Figure 31, and the cement walk leading from the front steps to the sidewalk. The first eight houses built by the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company in 1898 have been rented at an average of $3.16 per room. The plan of these houses is shown in Figures 35 and 36. The block of houses erected by the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company on O street, between North Capitol and First streets northwest, is rented to colored tenants. These houses contain three and four room flats; each flat has a bathroom, with hot and cold. water; a back yard, with exit to an alley, and a cellar. The monthly rental (for eleven months) averages $3.18 per room. These flats have been continually occupied since their completion in 1902 by a good class of tenants, and losses as a result of vacancy or failure to pay rent have been insignificant. The investigations of the committee, made under the direction of Mr. Weber (see page 82), show that the poorer class of wage-earners in Washington living in old houses, many of which are dilapidated and SECOND STORY PLAN OF HOUSES BELONGING TO THE WASHINGTON SANITARY HOUSING COMPANY; 2 ROOMS AND BATH. leaky, and a large proportion of which have no water in the house, pay on an average from $2.00 to $2.70 per room. In comparing these rentals with those paid for new houses, which average from $3.00 to $4.00 per room, it must be remembered that new houses, such as are supplied by the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company, are built of brick, on lots having a frontage of at least 16 feet, in accordance with existing building regulations. Many of the old frame and brick houses have a frontage of only 12 or 14 feet. The rooms of the new houses are in every way superior. Moreover, the bathroom, supplied with hot and cold water; the range, with water-back, and the kitchen sink, with hot and cold water, add to the expense of construction considerably more than the cost of an additional room. If, for example, in the new houses now being built in the southwest section of the city (see page 19), the bathroom should be counted as an additional room, the rentals fixed for the four-room apartments ($11.00 per month) would only be $2.20 per room. No doubt many of the families occupying the old houses with six small rooms would prefer to pay for an additional bedroom or two rather than for a bathroom. They consider the water closet in the yard quite satisfactory, and an extra bedroom enables them to take a boarder, who gives material assistance in paying the rent. But from a sanitary and moral point of view it is far better for them to get on without the boarder and to acquire the bath habit. The children, especially, who will be taught the gospel of cleanliness in the public schools, should be given an opportunity to put in practice what they learn. It would seem to be the duty of the municipality to see that they have proper facilities for keeping clean as well as for learning the rudiments of sanitation in the schools. An attempt has been made to estimate the amount paid in rent for houses included in our schedule as compared with the value of the property. The estimated value, as made by our agents, is of course not exact, and in some cases may vary greatly from the market value, which often depends upon the location and dimensions of the lot, rather than upon the building. Taking the estimates given in the completed schedules we find that a large proportion of the houses are estimated to be worth less than $1,500. There is as great discrepancy in the rents paid in comparison with the estimated value. Thus we have 29 houses, estimated to be worth $2,000 each, which are rented from $12.00 to $23.50 per month. At $12.00 per month the owner would only receive 7 per cent gross on the value of the property. But Io of these houses are rented at $15.00 per month, which gives a return of 9 per cent gross. This is a fair return, and cannot be regarded as |