That day, February 1, was sometimes called Rent Day.
If the tenant agreed to the new terms and the new rent, they stayed.
If they couldnt afford the rent hike, they started looking for new houses.
The practice dates back to colonial times when the city was small and inhabitants were few.
Others link it to the English celebration of May Day.
Although the law was repealed eight years later, the practice stuck even as the city grew.
Everybody in a hurry, smashing mirrors in his haste, and carefully guarding boot boxes from harm.
Bed-screws will be lost in the confusion, and many a good piece of furniture badly bruised in consequence.
The citys carmen benefitted the most from Moving Day charging more than the official rates set by city ordinances.
He has become lord of the ascendant.
Ordinary offers do not tempt him.
In 1848, the Tenant League denounced the practice of increasing rents every year.
The cost of moving was another concern.
It wasnt uncommon for people paying up to a week’s wages so that be moved.
Finally, it took a world war to put an end to this baffling practice.
