Tristan’s Landlord-Tenant Law Blog
ATTENTION LANDLORDS: Wisconsin Court of Appeals case of Koble v. Marquardt Is Now Law
This is a long blog post, and I apologize in advance, but I sincerely hope that you take the time to read it all the way until the end as it is very important that Wisconsin landlords know what they will be facing. This may be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, issues facing landlords in the last 30 years that I have been a practicing attorney, representing ...
It Is Very Important That Landlords Ensure That They Are Using the Most Current Version of WLB's Landlord Tenant Rental Forms.
It is very important that landlords that are using the landlord-tenant law rental documents/forms that I draft, and which are sold through Wisconsin Legal Blank (WLB), ensure that they are using the most current forms. To aid you in determining if you are using the most current version, WLB just published the document below on their website, so that you know have one place to go to determine if ...
Updated Nonstandard Rental Provisions form Now Available at Wisconsin Legal Blank
Hi Everyone - I hope that you are all well on this rainy Friday afternoon. I just wanted to alert those of you that use the Landlord-Tenant forms that I draft for Wisconsin Legal Blank, that I recently re-wrote the Nonstandard Rental Provisions (NSRP) form for clarity and legal conformity. I recommend that you update your NSRP form accordingly to better protect yourself and your ...
Beware of Clauses Requiring More than 28-Days’ Notice to Terminate Month-to-Month Tenancies
By Atty. Gary D. KochClauses requiring tenants to provide 60-Day Notice to terminate a month-to-month tenancy are popular – we see them a lot in rental agreements. Recently, though, we have seen the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection take issue with such clauses in rental agreements in month-to-month tenancies that require the tenant to give anything more than a 28-Day Notice to terminate the tenancy.These DATCP challenges ...
Updated Nonstandard Rental Provision Form Available Now at Wisconsin Legal Blank
A new and updated version of the Nonstandard Rental Provisions (NSRP) form that I draft is available for purchase at Wisconsin Legal Blank. The need for the revisions were due to conversations that I had with the State (namely the Attorney General's Office) while defending a client of mine during a Civil Investigative Demand (CID). During our conversations, the AG's office informed me that it was their opinion that a NSRP ...
How Long Should A Landlord Save A Tenant's Lease and Other Rental Documents?
A while ago I wrote a post in which I recommended that landlords retain a denied rental applicant's application and related paperwork for at least 2 years from the date of denial. This post will focus on the situation where the landlord has accepted the applicant, the applicant was your tenant, and now their tenancy has ended for whatever reason. Under this scenario, how long should a landlord hold on ...
What Is The Difference Between a Rental Agreement, a Lease, and a Month-to-Month Tenancy
A question that I am often asked is what is the difference between a rental agreement, a lease, and a month to month tenancy. I will do my best to explain.The "Real World" AnswerA "Rental Agreement" is the general term that is used to cover all types of rental tenancies. A rental agreement includes a lease and a periodic tenancy (such as a month to month tenancy). ...
More New and Revised Landlord Forms Available at Wisconsin Legal Blank
I have recently completed drafting some new landlord forms which are now available at Wisconsin Legal Blank, including:1. Smoking Policy Addendum (Form 982) - This form may be used when a landlord wants to prohibit smoking on the rental premises or only allow smoking in specific location/s of the rental premises. This form also sets forth the terms, conditions and rules related to any smoking prohibition or restriction ...
New & Revised Landlord-Tenant Forms Available at Wisconsin Legal Blank
As a result of 2015 Act 176 becoming law earlier this month it became necessary to draft and/or revise some of the landlord-tenant forms sold at Wisconsin Legal Blank Co., Inc.As of March 24th the following revised or new forms will be available at WLB:5 Day Notice To Vacate for Criminal Activity or Drug-Related Criminal ActivityThis new notice may be served on a tenant, under any tenancy, if ...
If You Allow Your Tenant To Keep A Pet Then You Should Be Using a Written Pet Agreement
In talking with my clients and potential clients over the past year, I have also noticed that more and more landlords are allowing tenants to keep pets. I am not sure if this is because of the many pet owners that were also homeowners that have since lost their homes to foreclosure and have been forced to become renters or if it is because landlords are trying to be more ...
The 10 Deadly Sins: 10 Provisions That Landlords Cannot Include in Their Wisconsin Residential Rental Agreements
With the passage of Act 143 (2012) and Act 76 (2014) the legislature has created several new provisions that a Residential Landlord cannot include in his Rental Agreement. There are currently 10 items, which I affectionately refer to as the "10 Deadly Sins" that if they are included in your Wisconsin residential rental agreement will render the agreement void and unenforceable.In my representation of landlords over the past 20 ...
Revised Wisconsin Legal Blank Forms Will Be Available on Monday, February 17th
As I hope most of you are aware, Wisconsin passed a new law that will great affect landlord-tenant law - Act 76. Whenever the law is changed, there is usually a need to revise and/or update your rental documents to comply with the law. That is definitely the case with the changes from Act 76.As such, I have had to update many of the rental documents that are ...
New & Improved Nonstandard Rental Provisions Form Available at Wisconsin Legal Blank
As many of you know, I draft the various landlord-tenant law forms that are sold at Wisconsin Legal Blank Co., Inc. In light of the recent court of appeals decision (Keyes & Gruner v. Waldbillig et. al) that I referenced in an earlier ...
Court of Appeals Decision Reminds Landlords To Review Their Nonstandard Rental Provisions Before Making Deductions from A Tenant's Security Deposit
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals, in an unpublished decision dated May 9, 2013, held that a landlord wrongfully withheld a portion of his tenants' security deposit for costs incurred when attempting to re-rent the rental unit.As I have mentioned in a prior post, Wisconsin law essentially allows a landlord to deduct only three things from a tenant's security deposit: (1) damage, waste, or neglect, (2) rent, (3) utilities. Any other items ...
Top 10 Pitfalls That Landlords Should Avoid
Those of you that missed the last AASEW membership meeting on Monday, April 15, 2013, missed a great meeting and a great presentation. The featured presenter was John "Dr. Rent" Fischer, a Wausau-area landlord and rental property manager, who spoke to a packed house that Monday. John's presentation was dynamic, educational and at times pretty darn funny.With John's permission, I am providing you with a link to ...
So Are Illegal Provisions In Wisconsin Residential Rental Agreements Severable Or Not?
SHORT ANSWER: Yes . . . and No.LONG ANSWER: The newly passed law referred to as the Landlord's Omnibus Law (Act 143) adresses this issue but provides contradictory answers.In newly created sec. 704.02 of the Wisconsin Statutes, the law states quite clearly that the provisions of a rental agreement or lease are severable. Specifically, it states that if any ...
Newly revised Landlord-Tenant Law Forms Available at Wisconsin Legal Blank on April 2 and April 3, 2012.
Wisconsin's Landlord Omnibus Law (Act 143) went into effect today - April 1, 2012. As a result of the new law it was necessary for me to update many of the landlord-tenant law forms that are sold at Wisconisn Legal Blank. As of Monday, April 2, 2012, the following revised forms will be available:1. Residential Rental Agreement (Form #19)- Added language required in order for landlord to be able ...
2011 Wisconsin Act 143 (Landlord Omnibus Law) Also Applies To Commercial Landlord-Tenant Law
While this blog primarily focuses on residential landlord-tenant law, on occasion I also touch on issues applicable to commercial landlord-tenant law. This is one such instance.Commercial landlord-tenant is more straightforward than residential in my opinion because commercial tenancies are less regulated than residential. Typically what a commercial landlord and tenant agreed to and placed into their lease agreement is what governs. The Wisconsin Administrative Code's ATCP 134 does not ...
Landlord's Omnibus Bill Signed Into Law - Read It Now
Governor Walker did sign the Landlord's Omnibus Bill into law.I appreciate the effort of everyone that called the Governor's office asking him to veto the bill due to its deficiencies.Here is a link to the new law. Much easier to read than having to go back and forth between the orginal bill, the Substitute bill and the two amendments.The two main concerns that I have with the law and which caused ...
Upon Further Reflection, I Think The Governor Should Veto The Landlord's Omnibus Bill
I spent several hours yesterday reviewing and thinking about the new Landlord's Omnibus Bill that is to be signed into law today by Governor Walker at 4 pm.I then spent hours of time trying to summarize the new law in yesterday's blog post in an easy to read and understand format.Since publishing the blog post yesterday I have a few more thoughts and concerns:1. AASEW Board member and friend Tim Ballering ...