November 8th, 1977

I guess this should be a shock. But it really doesn’t feel like one. Today was THE DAY that Dennis’ drama as a tenant suing his landlord was over. My status as prospective tenant after Dennis has remained a non-issue until his situation with the rest protest was resolved. However, my willingness to accept this tenuous situation was grounded in huge volumes of support from Dennis. Dennis has literally given me pep talks to overcome my anxieties over living here. Tonight he comes in with half a dozen ambiguous plots over what to do next. 

The deal was this:

December– Dennis was moving to Boston. By that time the rent-increase protest would be settled (hopefully favorably). At this point he would inform Sandy that for several months his work had taken him out of town (true). And that now his work was causing him to leave town (true). And that during this time of absence, he had taken a roommate (technically true). And that his roommate wanted to keep the apartment (true). 

There have been two basic assumptions underlying this plot. (A) Tenant transfer based on recommendation is the history of this building; and (B) legally any rent increase I might experience would be limited to 12% (somehow or another, 12% has become some mythic figure bandied about in conversation as “circling rent increase” in D.C.)

Tonight– after the hearing which denied Sandoz’s appeal, Dennis came in fraught with plans and anxieties. Now he feels that Sandoz could raise the rent on a new tenant without discretion. That nothing would, legally, prevent them from raising the rest on me to, let’s say, $350 per month.

Dennis is due a rebate from Sandoz fro the past year. He says it’s $900 or so. This rebate will come to him in the form of a lump sum or as not having to pay rent for a comparable period of time. Because of his plans to move to Boston, the lump sum is highly preferable. 

To compensate for this money loss the management company is experiencing because of these tenant rebates and, also, because of their willingness to nearly double the rent last year– the possibility of their raising the rent on me is probable.