"We Don't Know"

In 16,000,000 houses, apartments and converted garages, nervous tenants asked themselves the same question: what would happen if rent controls came off? Everyone agreed on the answer: ante up or move into the street. Last week the prospect that controls would be lifted entirely was still remote. But a raise in rent was in the works.

Fortnight ago, Harry Truman had admitted that some "adjustments" in rent controls might be necessary. Last week OPA's advisory committee suggested the adjustment: 1) no ceilings at all on new construction or reconversions; 2) no further controls where landlords offered one-year leases at a 15% increase; 3) a straight 15% boost across the country.

To the whittled-down OPA, which must pass on the recommendation within 30 days, this was a real poser. Said one OPAster: "Honestly we don't know what we will or have to do ... whether we'll have to raise the ceilings in order to hold the control lines."

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