Needy may outbargain US on rents, study says

Private individuals with government subsidy funds for use in low-income housing can often negotiate better rental terms than government agencies acting in their behalf.

That's the conclusion of a recent Rand Corporation survey made in Wisconsin and Indiana by the Santa Monica, Calif.-based organization. In the case of experimental housing allowances that were given directly to prospective renters, the rental prices paid by the recipients increased only 1.2 percent. By comparison, government agencies working under the 1974 Section VIII federal subsidy to obtain housing for the needy paid prices 26 percent greater for living space.

The Rand survey is part of a government study to test housing-allowance and other social concepts for aid to the nation's needy. It i s funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.