Block v. Hirsh
Encyclopedia
Block v. Hirsh, , is a United States Supreme Court case which upheld a temporary rent control
law in the District of Columbia. It set a precedent in American law that government can regulate housing conditions to maintain or improve living conditions.
In the aftermath of the war, the country experienced a national housing shortage. This impelled federal intervention in the housing market, and in October 1919, Congress
passed a statute establishing a commission with the power to regulate rental property in the District of Columbia. The statute allowed for the fixing of fair and reasonable rents, and secured a tenant's right of occupancy so long as he paid his rent and performed by the conditions of his lease. However, it reserved to the owner his right to possession for actual bona fide
occupancy, as in to provide a home for himself and his relatives. This right was conditioned on the tenant being given a 30 days' notice to vacate the premises. The statute declared that its provisions were made necessary due to emergencies growing out of the war, and limited its duration to a period of two years.
Block was a tenant in an apartment building located at F Street in Washington. His lease was set to expire on December 31, 1919, but he would be allowed to remain in occupancy under the rental property statute. Hirsh, who had recently purchased the building, notified Block on December 15 and requested that he vacate the premises upon expiration of his lease. Hirsh wanted the premises for his own use, but did not see fit to give the 30 days' notice because he denied the validity of the statute. Block declined, and on review, the Court of Appeals held the statute unconstitutional. Block appealed to the Supreme Court.
The more pressing question, Holmes said, was whether the statute had gone too far in restricting the entitlement of the property owner. Beyond the general police power
, and further beyond the power of eminent domain
, an eventual clash with the due process right of the Fifth Amendment
was inevitable. If unduly exerted, the legislation would be in violation of the takings clause. However, rate fixing in the public interest was a valid form of regulation, as had been decided in Munn v. Illinois
. Additionally, the self-imposed time limitation sufficiently dispelled any trepidation that would have been manifest in the case of a permanent change. Holmes concluded with an admonishment in the vein of judicial restraint
:
wrote a sharply worded dissent. The conditions imposed by the statute, McKenna said, were "contrary to every conception of leases that the world has ever entertained, and of the reciprocal rights and obligations of lessor and lessee." The constitutional prohibitions on denial of due process and impairment of the obligation of contracts were "so direct and definite as to need no reinforcing words", and the only question was whether the statute fell within the purview of these limitations. McKenna dismissed the claim of wartime necessity, stating that "the country has had other wars with resulting embarrassments, yet they did not induce the relaxation of constitutional requirements nor the exercise of arbitrary power." He warned that the Court's decision might presage a slippery slope of government mandates in other areas deemed necessary for the public improvement:
In light of this danger, legislative judgement should not be accorded determinative weight: "It is to be remembered that the legality of power must be estimated not by what it will do, but by what it can do." McKenna characterized the statute as an example of socialism
:
have conditions come, not only to the District of Columbia, embarrassing the Federal Government, but to the world as well, that are not amenable to passing palliatives, so that socialism, or some form of socialism, is the only permanent corrective or accommodation?
Rent control
Rent control refers to laws or ordinances that set price controls on the renting of residential housing. It functions as a price ceiling.Rent control exists in approximately 40 countries around the world...
law in the District of Columbia. It set a precedent in American law that government can regulate housing conditions to maintain or improve living conditions.
Background
Prior to World War I, housing in the United States was usually regarded as an issue best left to state and local governments.In the aftermath of the war, the country experienced a national housing shortage. This impelled federal intervention in the housing market, and in October 1919, Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
passed a statute establishing a commission with the power to regulate rental property in the District of Columbia. The statute allowed for the fixing of fair and reasonable rents, and secured a tenant's right of occupancy so long as he paid his rent and performed by the conditions of his lease. However, it reserved to the owner his right to possession for actual bona fide
Bona Fide
Bona Fide is a studio album from rock band Wishbone Ash. It is the first studio album in six years and is the only studio album to feature guitarist Ben Granfelt...
occupancy, as in to provide a home for himself and his relatives. This right was conditioned on the tenant being given a 30 days' notice to vacate the premises. The statute declared that its provisions were made necessary due to emergencies growing out of the war, and limited its duration to a period of two years.
Block was a tenant in an apartment building located at F Street in Washington. His lease was set to expire on December 31, 1919, but he would be allowed to remain in occupancy under the rental property statute. Hirsh, who had recently purchased the building, notified Block on December 15 and requested that he vacate the premises upon expiration of his lease. Hirsh wanted the premises for his own use, but did not see fit to give the 30 days' notice because he denied the validity of the statute. Block declined, and on review, the Court of Appeals held the statute unconstitutional. Block appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court's decision
In a 5-4 decision, the Court upheld the law as constitutional. The majority opinion was written by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. Congress's claim, Holmes contended, was that "circumstances have clothed the letting of buildings in the District of Columbia with a public interest so great as to justify regulation by law." These circumstances constituted a "publi[c], notorious, and almost worldwide fact". There was no reason to doubt that the war had bred unseemly conditions in the district, nor Congress's intention of providing an effective remedy to that end. In times of trouble, Holmes concluded, the private may be affected with a public concern, allowing governmental action otherwise considered impermissible. Moreover, condemnation for public use had been repeatedly upheld by the Court in the fields of mining, irrigation and insurance. Holmes noted that state control of privately owned buildings evoked a peculiar apprehension, but nonetheless was within regulatory reach:- The fact that tangible property is also visible tends to give a rigidity to our conception of our rights in it that we do not attach to others less concretely clothed. But the notion that the former are exempt from the legislative modification required from time to time in civilized life is contradicted not only by the doctrine of eminent domain, under which what is taken is paid for, but by that of the police power in its proper sense, under which property rights may be cut down, and to that extent taken, without pay.
The more pressing question, Holmes said, was whether the statute had gone too far in restricting the entitlement of the property owner. Beyond the general police power
Police power
In United States constitutional law, police power is the capacity of the states to regulate behavior and enforce order within their territory for the betterment of the general welfare, morals, health, and safety of their inhabitants...
, and further beyond the power of eminent domain
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
, an eventual clash with the due process right of the Fifth Amendment
Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law which traces back to the Magna Carta in 1215...
was inevitable. If unduly exerted, the legislation would be in violation of the takings clause. However, rate fixing in the public interest was a valid form of regulation, as had been decided in Munn v. Illinois
Munn v. Illinois
Munn v. Illinois, 94 U.S. 113 , was a United States Supreme Court case dealing with corporate rates and agriculture. The Munn case allowed states to regulate certain businesses within their borders, including railroads, and is commonly regarded as a milestone in the growth of federal government...
. Additionally, the self-imposed time limitation sufficiently dispelled any trepidation that would have been manifest in the case of a permanent change. Holmes concluded with an admonishment in the vein of judicial restraint
Judicial restraint
Judicial restraint is a theory of judicial interpretation that encourages judges to limit the exercise of their own power. It asserts that judges should hesitate to strike down laws unless they are obviously unconstitutional...
:
- Assuming that the end in view otherwise justified the means adopted by Congress, we have no concern, of course, with the question whether those means were the wisest, whether they may not cost more than they come to, or will effect the result desired. It is enough that we are not warranted in saying that legislation that has been resorted to for the same purpose all over the world is futile or has no reasonable relation to the relief sought.
Dissent
Justice Joseph McKennaJoseph McKenna
Joseph McKenna was an American politician who served in all three branches of the U.S. federal government, as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, as U.S. Attorney General and as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court...
wrote a sharply worded dissent. The conditions imposed by the statute, McKenna said, were "contrary to every conception of leases that the world has ever entertained, and of the reciprocal rights and obligations of lessor and lessee." The constitutional prohibitions on denial of due process and impairment of the obligation of contracts were "so direct and definite as to need no reinforcing words", and the only question was whether the statute fell within the purview of these limitations. McKenna dismissed the claim of wartime necessity, stating that "the country has had other wars with resulting embarrassments, yet they did not induce the relaxation of constitutional requirements nor the exercise of arbitrary power." He warned that the Court's decision might presage a slippery slope of government mandates in other areas deemed necessary for the public improvement:
- If such exercise of government be legal, what exercise of government is illegal? Houses are a necessary of life, but other things are as necessary. May they too be taken from the direction of their owners and disposed of by the Government?
In light of this danger, legislative judgement should not be accorded determinative weight: "It is to be remembered that the legality of power must be estimated not by what it will do, but by what it can do." McKenna characterized the statute as an example of socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
:
have conditions come, not only to the District of Columbia, embarrassing the Federal Government, but to the world as well, that are not amenable to passing palliatives, so that socialism, or some form of socialism, is the only permanent corrective or accommodation?