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Show Area Rent Director Lists Work Of Housing Authority In Report Public interest in rent control was revealed by a sharp increase in inquiries during December at the Area Rent office. Rent Director Di-rector Fred E. Ray reported today, to-day, the year-end rush helped roll up a total of 503 Carbon, Duchesne and Uintah county citizens who personally visited the local offices in the city hall at Price and the Hotel Vernal at Vernal, Utah. Another 163 received re-ceived telephonic answers to their questions on rent problems, Mr, Ray said. A feature of the year was recovery re-covery for tenants of $2037.45 in rent overcharges. Bulk of this money came through informal inform-al "compliance conferences" with landlords resulting in set- tlements totalling $1935.95 paid to 18 tenants. - The remaining $103.50 was obtained through the federal court by housing Expediter's Expe-diter's attorney's against one landlord. During December alone $391.70 was refunded to tenants. Landlords, too, had their innings, in-nings, as indicated by approval here of 74 rent increases, rep-resenting rep-resenting 98 per cent of the applications ap-plications received. Affected were 74 rental units on which ceiling adjustments averaging $6.17 per unit was granted on the basis of higher taxes, operating operat-ing costs, individual hardship, and other permissible grounds. Looking back over 1948, Mr. Ray said, a peak in activity occurred oc-curred as a result of provisions of the new law passed by Congress Con-gress continuing the 1947 law's provision for rent increases up to 15 per cent, provided landlord land-lord and tenant agreed voluntarily voluntar-ily to incorporate these terms into in-to a lease running through at least December 31, 1949. New leases signed. thus brought the total leases registered regis-tered with the Price Area Rent office to 99. Leases expiring on December 31, 1948, and not renewed, re-newed, the housing accommodations accommoda-tions they cover again become controlled by the Federal Rent regulation on January 1, 1949. Broadening the law's eviction provisions, permitting a landlord land-lord to get possession of a house for use of a member of his immediate im-mediate family, had the expected expect-ed result. It brought to the Price Area Rent office many tenants, seeking information on their rights concerning eviction notices no-tices received by them. |