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DRAFT FOR ATTORNEY REVIEW — NOT FINAL

Javins v. First National Realty Corp., 428 F.2d 1071 (1970)

Citation
Javins v. First National Realty Corp., 428 F.2d 1071 (1970)
Parent Document
Javins v. First National Realty Corp., 428 F.2d 1071 (1970)
Jurisdiction
DC (municipal)
Effective Date
1970-05-07

Other Sections in This Document (106)

Full Text

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' It is overdue for courts to admit that these assumptions are no longer true with regard to all urban housing. Today’s (urban39 tenants, the vast majority of ¡whom live in multiple dwelling houses, ‘are interested, not in the land, but solely in “a house suitable for occupation.” Furthermore, today’s city dweller usually has a single, specialized skill unrelated to maintenance work; he is unable to make repairs like the “jack-of-all-trades” farmer who was the common law’s model of the lessee.40 Further, unlike his agrarian predecessor who often remained on one piece of land for his entire life, urban tenants today are more mobile than ever before. A tenant’s tenure in a specific apartment will often not be sufficient to justify efforts at repairs. -In addition, the increasing complexity of today’s dwellings renders them much more difficult to repair than the structures of earlier times. In a multiple dwelling repair may require access to equipment and areas in the control of the landlord. Low and middle income tenants, even if they were interested in *1079making repairs, would be unable to obtain any financing for major repairs since they have no long-term interest in the property.