ea

GINIA LI IBRARY

> icin C.Small Houses Within the City Limits
tor Unskilled Wage Earners

BY

GEORGE M. STERNBERG, M.D., LL D.

Nationa, Houstnc Association PuBLicaTIons
No. 27
Prick Five Crnts
SECOND E’pITION—NovEMBER, 1915.
105 East 22p StrEET, NEw York CrrySmall Houses Within the City Limits for
Unskilled Wage Earners

BY GEORGE MM SPERNBERG, Vib. ib.

Surgeon-General U. S. A. retired: ex-President American Medical Association ;
ex-President American Public Health Association; Director,
National Housing Association.

S my experience in building houses for wage-earners

A dates back to the organization of the Washington

Sanitary Improvement Company in 1897, and as I

have frequent inquiries from other cities as to our plans and

the results of our experience, I have prepared for publication
this brochure.

Every one recognizes the advantages of an independent
home for every family, no matter how humble. And if this
home can be in the country, or in a district where each house
is entirely separate from all others, and has its own yard, and,
if possible, a small garden, so much the better. But for the
unskilled laborer whose work is near the center of a large
city, these ideal conditions seem impossible of attainment.
Garden cities are most desirable places of residence for those
who can afford to live in them. But for the unskilled laborer
who receives only from a dollar and a half to two dollars a
day for his work, and who very often is required to work
ten hours or more for six days in the week, the rentals,
together with the cost of transpertatzos, will place such a
home beyond his reach. oe 88

The problem is, then, to provide sanitary homes for this
class of laborers near their places of employment, at rentals which
they can afford to pay. This problem has been met in Phila-
delphia and in certain other cities by the erection of two-story
houses, in blocks, each to accommodate a single family. The
Philadelphia type of houses is illustrated and described in a
paper by Miss Helen LL. Parrish, entitled: “One Million
People in Small Houses’”—published by the National Housing
Association im 191 (Ne: 7). Phe plans as civen im this
publication appear to me to be admirable, and for this type

3of house can scarcely be improved upon. (See plan entitled
The Philadelphia Type.) A comparison, however, with the
latest plans of the Washington Sanitary Improvement Com-
pany leads me to think that our two-flat plan has some ad-

vantages.

Provide for Family Privacy.

Our houses are built upon lots having a frontage of 20 feet,
and each house has two independent flats. There is nothing
in common. Each tenant has a front entrance and a back
yard opening upon an alley in the rear. On a frontage of 60
feet we can build three of these houses, accommodating six
families and renting (six flats) for $06 per month. In the
Philadelphia plan the same frontage would be occupied by
four houses, accommodating four families and renting for $52
per month. The cost of our three houses, including land,
would be about $7,200. The cost of the four single family
houses, as given by Miss Parrish, would be $7,000. The cost
of the lot may be a factor in deciding whether the houses
should be of the one-family or two-family type. If the land
is already expensive the argument for the two-family house is
strengthened; on the other hand, if the land is inexpensive,
the erection of one-family houses may be preferable, especially
when it is practicable to build separate houses, with side yards.
But when houses are built in blocks there is always some
economy in the two flat type. Our tenants in the upstairs
flats have four rooms and a bath at a rental of $12 per month,
while the Philadelphia plan gives the same number of rooms
for $13 per month. The back porches in our houses, which
give access, by a stairway, to the back yard, are greatly appre-
ciated by the tenants, dnd: éould be used as sleeping porches.

The first floor flats have but three rooms and bath. But
the front room is large (15.6 x 15.9), and in case of need can
be used as a sitting room and bedroom. These three-room
flats are rented for $10 per month, which is as much as many
tenants can afford to pay. Young people just married, or
older people without children, require only three rooms. If
there are one or two children they can have a couch or folding
bed in the front room.

One advantage of our flats is in economy in heating. We
put a good range, with water back, in the kitchen. The hot

4)

Second floor, 4 rooms and bath, rent $12.

 

 

ipitol Street, now occupied by colored tenants.

c

 

 

«
.

3 rooms and bath, rent $10.

&
O
©

Cc

D
oa
ea

O
ic
oS
~
=
=
-—
oO
D
=
=
O
pos
Y
v
~
vo
=
QO
=
=
a
—
oO
eal
—
(cy
x
v
oO
vo
u
n
vo
n
=
—
O
CS
ec
>
=
S
oC
Oo
—
=
cS
=
5
x
+
S
S
vo
=
<
&
oO
>
©
o
A
ay

yd
PT
TT

 

unitary Im

Cc

5water boiler is placed in the bath room and heats it sufficiently.
We also put a small coal stove in the front room. But as a
rule, except in unusually severe weather, this stove is not
used. The door between the kitchen and front room is usually
left open and the kitchen range affords sufficient heat for the

whole apartment.

The Smallest Houses.

In order to provide for families of two who cannot afford
to pay rentals of $10 or $12 a month, the Washington Sani-
tary Housing Co. has erected some houses on a frontage of
15 feet, having two rooms and a bath on each floor. These
are rented at $7.50 for the first floor and $8.50 for the second
floor flats. This company was organized in 1904, after all of the
capital stock of the Sanitary Improvement Co. had been sold
and the money invested in houses. A separate room as a
sitting room (“parlor”) is no doubt desirable, but it is a
luxury which many unskilled laborers cannot afford. In
Europe a large proportion of the skilled laborers are obliged
to content themselves with a two-room apartment. As the
size of the family increases and the children grow older, it
is, of course, essential to have one or two separate bedrooms
for them.

With our colored tenants the kitchen is the usual sitting
room. These two-room flats cost more per room than the
three and four room flats; as the bath room, plumbing fixtures
and range are the same. The rent at $7.50 and $8.50 is conse-
quently greater per room. As these flats are occupied by
colored tenants who cannot afford a three or four-room flat,
the losses from failure to collect rent are somewhat greater
than in the larger flats. But we have always been able to
realize the amount required—5 per cent. net—to pay our divi-
dends, and the two-room flats are in constant demand.

The Philadelphia type and the two-flat type, as I have
described it, are alike in having all the living rooms with
outside windows. In our two-room flats the bath room also
has an outside window; but in the three and four-room flats,
we are obliged to light and ventilate the bath room by a
ventilating shaft opening through the roof. Attention is in-
vited to the large closets provided (as shown in the cut on
page 9) in our three and four-room flats.

6When, through my initiative, the Washington Sanitary
Improvement Co. was organized, in 1897, I gave much thought
to the question of type of house as conditioned by sanitary
requirements and economy of construction.

I considered it a fundamental requirement that each apart-
ment should be entirely independent. That is, that there
should be no common entrance or hallway, or water closet.
I had to consider cost of land, as my object was to give the
lowest possible rentals. I could build a house containing two
independent apartments on a twenty-foot lot, but I could not
build two houses, side by side, on the same lot. I therefore
adopted the two-flat type of house and have never seen reason
to regret it.

The Financial Side.

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Co. now has 310
houses containing 620 independent flats. The assets of this
company amount to a little more than a million dollars. The
stockholders have received dividends of five per cent. since
the organization of the company and we have a surplus (in-
vested in houses) of $211,059. One of the features in the
management of the property, adopted at the outset, is our
“rebate system.” If the tenant keeps his flat in good repair
and pays his rent promptly for eleven months, he is not
required to pay the twelfth month’s rent. If, at the end of
eleven months, any interior repairs are required, or if pay-
ments for repairs have been made by the company during
this period, the tenant pays for these repairs out of his rebate
and whatever balance remains out of the month’s rent is
remitted.

This is, of course, an inducement to take care of the prop-
erty and not to vacate a flat when the period for the rebate
is approaching. As a matter of fact, our flats are in such
demand that we usually have a waiting list and the loss from
vacancies or failure to collect rent is very small. In 1911-12
the total loss was 1.69% of the total amount possible to collect
at the rentals established; in 1912-13 it was 0.89% of the
total possible; in 1913-14 it was 1.50%. Of course, results
depend greatly upon the efficiency of the company’s managing
agent, who rents the flats, collects rents, makes necessary
repairs, etc. The agent receives for his services five per cent.

7¢ vf ®

PARLOR BeEp Koom

 

 

FinsttiecR PLAN SECOND Fleer PLAN

 

A HOUSE FOR EACH FAMILY—THE PHILADELPHIA TYPE.

Two-story Brick Houses, 4 Rooms and Bath. Selling Price, $1,750.
Rent, $13 a Month

8KITCHEN

ay

10-8" x )5-6"

 

oO

Livute RooM Livinc ROOM Brp Room
156" 15-9 15°S" =< 10%)" 810° 1220"

 

ae FLOOR VYECOND FLOOR PLAN

EAT a a

20-0 ° nt pig

Two Flat Houses of the Washington Sanitary Improvement Co.
Rent, $10 for First Floor, $12 for Second Floor

9on the amount of his collections. The total rent collections
in 1913 amounted to $91,296.86. During the past year a lady
social worker has been employed as a sub-agent to look after
the interests of the company, and of the tenants, in the
houses occupied by colored tenants. She selects tenants, col-
lects rents, looks after repairs, etc., under the direction of the
agent of the company, Mr. Terrell Pattison, who has been
our managing agent for fourteen years.

Our policy is to buy, when practicable, a whole block of
land within the city limits, where sewers and water supply
are accessible. As we require only shallow lots (65 feet deep),
we have a street laid out through the middle of our block
and then are able to build four rows of houses—two facing
the outside streets and two the new street through the centre
of the block. At the rear, between two blocks of houses, is
a paved alley. Cement sidewalks are laid in front of each
block of houses. The rear yards are enclosed by a substan-
tial wire fence. Our houses are all built of brick and have
slag roofs. We do not paint interior woodwork, as the Vir-
ginia pine wood finished with oil and varnish, looks better
and keeps clean longer than painted surfaces. The walls are
calsomined and may be tinted. The walls of the kitchen and
of the stairway, to a height of five feet, are plastered with
cement plaster, not easily broken. A box for coal, having a
padlock, is provided for each flat and is placed under the
back porch. Cement walks lead from the front door to the
sidewalk and the space between these walks is covered with
grass.

We build houses only for rent. To sell houses in our
blocks would take them out of our control and there would
be no way of getting rid of objectionable occupants. Our
policy is to keep our houses constantly in a good state of
repair and any loss which may result from age and deteriora-
tion is fully provided for by our growing surplus.

In fixing the rents I figure on 9% gross income on the
total cost, for eleven months’ rent. This gives us 5% for
dividends to stockholders, 2% for taxes, agent’s commission
and exterior repairs, and 2% for the surplus fund. Under
our charter, dividends are limited to five per cent.

Interior repairs are provided for, under the rebate system,
by the twelfth month’s rent, which goes for repairs, if neces-

IOey

fo ae

\

 

 

 

 

 

New Houses on South Capitol Stree

 

Yudédddd

he

 

of t

 

irds

c

Jalal

ig ///

Ge

 

Midi

c

a

ick Porches

)
D «sary, and if not, goes to the tenant as a reward for his care
of the property.

Principles of Economic Construction.

It is hardly necessary to say that an individual or a com-
pany can build a considerable number of houses, in a block,
or as separate cottages, more economically than a single house
or a few houses can be built. A contractor can afford to
figure upon a smaller percentage of profit on a large job than.
he would be justified in taking on a small one, and he can
purchase materials on a large scale at lower prices than for
small quantities. The private individual of small means is
therefore at a disadvantage as compared with the man of
wealth or a corporation with ample capital. It is a great
advantage in building small houses for the laboring classes
to be able to control and subdivide city squares or suburban
properties to the best advantage. Where houses are to be
built in blocks long and narrow lots are a decided disadvan-
tage, as the lighting of interior rooms is one of the principal
problems to be solved. The nearer a house approaches the
form of a square the more economical it will be in construc-

tion.

There is no economy in poor plumbing, but bathroom fix-
tures can be substantial and durable without being expensive.
Mantlepieces and wall paper do not add to a tenants comfort ;
but do add to the rent he must pay. However, they add to
the attractiveness of a house, and the poorest tenants are often
willing to pay for such things, even if they cannot afford
them. The Sanitary Improvement Company and the Sanitary
Housing Company find that their apartments are in great
demand, although the rooms are not papered. The tenants,
however, often paper them at their own expense.

The greatest possible economy in construction calls for
a perfectly plain front. The monotony of this type may be
relieved by a more or less ornamental cornice, by bay windows
and front porches. Exterior decorations may add to the value
of a “home” from an aesthetic point of view, but all such
additions will, of course, make it necessary to increase the
rents, and will make the houses unavailable for the lowest
paid wage-earners.Minor Street.

      

 

c

 

into

  
    

Py

oO

ft

o

= -

Tete

Ona
Pus)
~
S

 

5

      
   
      
 

4 rooms and bath, $12.

0 to $10.50

sb)

3 rooms and bath, $9

NTS: %

’

Bates Street, between P and Q, First and Third Streets Northwest. Illustrating Conversion of
RE

 

 

 

 

 

EMILE LET SOLA LETPrinciples of Economic Management.

The economic management of dwellings constructed for
the poorer classes of the community calls for special care. The
cost of such management will, of course, constitute an impor-
tant item in the amount of rent which must be paid by the
tenants. For, as a rule, such properties will be required to
pay a reasonable rate of interest on the capital invested. At
the same time provision must be made for the deterioration |
resulting from wear and natural decay. The average “life”
of houses of this class, built of brick, in accordance with mod-
ern building regulations, may be placed at about fifty years,
and, from a business point of view, it will be necessary to fix
rentals at such a rate that a surplus of from one to two per
cent. will remain after paying a reasonable interest on the
capital invested and all expenses of management.

This will be necessary even in the case of corporations
organized from philanthropic motives; for, experience shows,
such corporations cannot obtain the money required for ex-
tensive operations unless their stock is regarded by those
who have money to invest as a safe dividend-paying invest-
ment. Small subscriptions may be obtained, by personal
solicitation, to inaugurate a movement for the betterment of
housing conditions, but such efforts will not lead to impor-
tant results unless it can be shown that the investment is
safe from a business point of view. This was recognized
at the outset by the writer and his associates when the Wash-
ington Sanitary Improvement Company was organized in
1897. The dividends were limited by the by-laws of the
company to five per cent. and rentals were fixed at such a rate
as would pay these dividends and the cost of management,
and at the same time afford a surplus to provide for the grad-
ual deterioration of the buildings. At the outset it was difficult
to secure subscriptions to the stock of the company, but when,
at the end of three or four years, the demonstration had been
made that the stock of the company was a safe five per cent.
investment, subscriptions came in more rapidly and without
any special effort on the part of the directors.

The capital stock of this company is limited by its charter
to $500,000, but by investing its surplus in houses and by
borrowing money upon its real estate it has been able to

14increase its usefulness, and the assets of the company now
amount to nearly $1,000,000, with an indebtedness of $225,000.

Economic management calls, in the first instance, for a
system of oversight and rent collection which shall prevent,
so far as may be, losses from vacancies or from failure to
collect. In order that the loss from vacancies may be reduced
to a minimum, it is necessary to give tenants attractive and
desirable flats, or houses, at rentals within their means, and at
least as low as can be obtained elsewhere. There is no profit,
in the long run, in putting rents up to the limit and in neglect-
ing to make necessary repairs. It is far better to receive a
reasonable rent all the time than to demand an excessive rent
and have a house vacant half the time.

Quite a number of the tenants occupying these flats have
kept their apartment in such repair that they are entitled
every year to the full rebate of one month’s rent, and many
have taken so much pride in their homes that they have
expended the rebate, and often more, in papering the rooms
or in other improvements.

Not only must rents be paid, but tenants, no matter how
humble, must belong to the respectable and industrious class
of the community. References are required in advance, and
disorderly or immoral persons, if they succeed in obtaining
a flat, are notified to leave as soon “asstlte agent discovers that

» ® D >

they are undesirable tenants. Si oees

It is economical to make promptly such repairs as are
necessary to plumbing, roofs, etc., and to protect all exterior
woodwork by two or more coats of good paint, which should
be renewed at intervals of two or three years. Where a con-
siderable number of houses are under one management, it will
probably be found to be in the interest of economy to employ
one or more men by the month to look after slight repairs.
Competent service in the way of oversight of property, rent-
ing and collection of rents can, probably, not be secured for
less than five per cent. on the amount collected. This is the
amount paid by the Washington Sanitary Improvement Com-
pany to its very efficient agent. If we add to this the cost of
exterior repairs, taxes, water rents and insurance, we will
find that the sum total of necessary expenses is not far from
two per cent. on the capital invested. The gross income

I

qtshould, therefore, not be less than seven per cent. in order to
pay a dividend of five per cent. And any amount earned in
excess of seven per cent. will be counted as surplus. When
this surplus is invested in additional houses which also pay
dividends and earn a surplus, the results will correspond with
those obtained when money is placed at compound interest.

This surplus is legitimate and necessary, in view of the
deterioration of property by age. In a company organized
from philanthropic motives care should be taken not to allow
this surplus to exceed one or two per cent. annually on the
capital invested. For it must come from the tenants, and a
ereater surplus than this would indicate that excessive rents
are being charged.

When a philanthropic spirit controls a business enterprise
of this kind the answer to the question as to how much rent
shall be charged should depend, not upon what other houses
rent for, but upon what is a fair return in interest upon the
capital invested. Sufficient capital to relieve the house famine
in a great city like Washington cannot be enlisted except upon
the terms of a safe investment. It is hardly necessary to say
that economic management requires that no officer or agent
of an organization formed to build houses for the poor should
receive compensation, except, at most reasonable rates, for
services actually rendered. And the formation of a company
for the purpose of disjsoging of a particular piece of land, or
to give employment toa pérticular person, makes it a business
rather than a philanthropic undertaking.

 

THE NATIONAL HOUSING ASSOCIATION
105 East 22p St., NEw York City

Organized to further the movement for improved housing by
putting at the command of local associations the services of men
with long experience and thorough training: by bringing the
scattered workers into touch with each other by means of its
publications and through annual conferences: by gathering at
its headquarters for the use of members, information regarding
the movement, its successes and its failures, so that each mem-
ber may profit by the experience of others; by advising in the
drafting and administering of housing laws—the most difficult
parts of the whole program and yet those upon which success
or failure must turn; and by training men and women who wish
to make housing a serious study or life-work.

Dues for annual membership $5.00, for sustaining member-
ship $25.00 per year.

 

 

 

16