Agents Say Rented Room Lacks Comfort of Houses

Undergraduates might be able to live somewhat more cheaply in apartments and boarding houses than in the Houses, but they would have to pass up many of the luxuries and conveniences of House life, landlords and rental agencies agreed yesterday.

Although the PBH Housing Registry Office and realtors in the Square said that there were no rooms available in the area which could compare with dormitory and House rooms in appearance or quality, a few of the suites available in private homes provide similar facilities.

The only way a student could really save money, according to the Housing Registry, would be to take a room in a boarding house, which, with shared bath, would cost only about $7 to $9 a week.

Complaints about the high cost of College rooms, always frequent, increased this week with the announcement of a flat 15 per cent raise in room rental rates. The raise was considered necessary to offset the increased costs of running the Operating Services.

The Housing Registry said that there were only a few suites available in private houses, and that for a three or four room suite the rent would be about $150 a month. "Parietal rules" imposed on students living in private homes might also be more strict than in the Houses.

Apartments with cooking facilities start at about $125 for two or three bedrooms, but such apartments in choice locations might run upwards of $200 a month. The average two-bed-room triple, according to official Harvard figures, costs about $525 a term or $115 a month, without cooking facilities, but with porter and janitor service and utilities.

Usually, occupants of single rooms in boarding houses must provide most of their own furniture, since the rooms are sparsely furnished. Other complaints include spasmodic heat and hot water supply, varying landladies, and solitude.

Realators also warned that most landlords require tenants to sign a year's lease, which necessitates subletting or paying for an empty apartment in the summer months.