Zenith Apartments v. Adams
Zenith Apartments v. Adams
Opinion of the Court
This case involves a petition to review a final order of the District of Columbia Rent Administrator. It comes here pursuant to the provisions of the District of Columbia Emergency Rent Act
Petitioner, operating an 'apartment building at 3217 Connecticut Avenue, in December 1951 petitioned the Rent Administrator for an adjustment of the maximum-rent ceiling of apartment No. 24 on the basis of a substantial capital improvement made since January 1, 1951. A hearing was held by an Examiner who made findings and recommended an order denying petitioner any adjustment. Request for review by the Administrator was granted resulting in a final order affirming the Examiner’s recommended order plus an additional finding by the Administrator. It is from this order that appeal is taken.
It seems expedient to briefly review the facts in order that our determination of the issues may more fully be understood. On January 1, 1941, the freeze date under the original District of Columbia Emergency Rent Act,
The landlord established a monthly rent of $88 a month on each of these new units. Apartment No. 24'then consisted of a one-room, unfurnished, so-called efficiency apartment. By a subsequent enactment
Pursuant to this petition an inspection was made of the apartment and petitioner was granted a hearing subsequent to which the Examiner made his findings of fact and recommended order wherein he stated, “That any upward adjustment of the maximum rent ceiling for the subject unit, even on a furnished basis, would permit the receipt of an unduly high rent and would exceed the generally prevailing rate for comparable housing accommodations located within the same building; the petition is therefore without merit, and accordingly, the following is recommended: Ordered, that an order of dismissal be entered herein, * * Upon denial of his motion for a rehearing before the Examiner, the landlord petitioned the Administrator for .a review. After reviewing the record the' Administrator issued an order affirming the Examiner’s recommended order and also made an additional finding setting forth in detail the basis for his affirmance of the Examiner’s action. This additional finding consisted of listing other comparable housing accommodations in this apartment building giving the maximum-rent ceilings per month, both furnished and unfurnished, and the effective dates thereof.
The petitioner contends that such order is arbitrary and capricious and since the act provides for an adjustment in rent based upon capital improvements the Administrator is therefore required as a matter of law to grant him some adjustment. With this we do not agree.
Section 4(b)
The purpose as well as the spirit of the act calls for an affirmance in this case. The Administrator was justified in concluding that the landlord by charging $88 for this unit unfurnished established a rent sufficiently high in the first instance without requiring any upward adjustment to compensate him for furnishing this apartment.
Under the section entitled “Court Review,” the act provides that “No order shall be set aside or remanded unless the petitioner shall establish to the satisfaction
Affirmed.
. Public Law 63, 82nd Cong., 1st Sess., § 9(c), (June 30, 1951).
. Code 1940, Supp. VII, 45-1602.
. Code 1940, Supp. VII, 45-1602(3) (b).
.Public Law 63, 82nd Cong., 1st Sess., (June 30, 1951).
. Id., § 4(b).
. Ibid.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- ZENITH APARTMENTS v. ADAMS
- Status
- Published