Tenants' Association Protests 'Substantial' Increases in Rent

Residents of the Avon Hill Street area have formed a tenants' union to protest "unacceptable" rent increases by Harvard Real Estate, Inc., Linda B. Ramsey, president of the Botantic Gardens Tenants Association, said yesterday.

The tenants, all of whom are members of the Faculty or staff of the University, have sent a letter to President Bok charging that the 22 per cent rent increase Harvard Real Estate plans to implement this year is, not commensurate with salary increases for the University personnel living in the Botanic Gardens complex in the Avon Hill area.

The increase, which follows a similar 22 per cent rent adjustment last year, will have "significant" consequences for many of the 128 residents of the Botanic Garden apartments. Eugenia Guinier, a member of the executive board of the Tenant's association, said yesterday.

"The increase is a kind of eviction note for the people who can't afford to pay 50 per cent of their take home pay to Harvard for rent," Guinier added.

Sally Zeckhauser, president of Harvard Real Estate, said on nonrent-controlled housing such as the Botantic Gardens apartments rents are determined by "fair market value" and reflect the spaciousness of an apartment and its location, among other considerations. She added, however, there is a "subjective element" in deciding the extent of increases.

In Cambridge, Ramsey said, "fair market value has nothing to do with fairness and everything to do with market." The increase "represents an estimate of the highest price Harvard Real Estate could rent the units for," she added.

The rent increases, which will primarily affect junior faculty living in University-owned housing, are "inconsistent with Harvard's policy to encourage faculty to live in Cambridge and be accessible to students," Ramsey said.