On May 14, 2009, Wisconsin Senator Spencer Coggs and 7 other state senators introduced 2009 Senate Bill 204, the "Victim Fair Housing Act."
This bill will prohibit discrimination in housing on the basis of a person's status as a victim of domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking. The bill also prohibits the owner of housing from requiring that a rental applicant supply information concerning the person's status as a victim of domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking.
If passed (and there appears to be a great many co-sponsors to date), this bill will create an additional protected class in Wisconsin for victims of domestic abuse, sexual assault, and/or stalking with regard to housing. Discrimination in housing includes actions such as rejecting a person who applies to rent your property or evicting a current tenant solely because they are a member of a protected class. Wisconsin currently prohibits housing discrimination based on a person's sex, race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religion, national origin, marital status, family status, lawful source of income, age, or ancestry. Some municipalities, like the City of Madison and Dane County, protect more classes than the twelve mentioned above.
While I am not aware of any landlord who would refuse to rent to a victim of abuse, in theory, it is when that theory is dropped into the "real world" that sticky situations may arise. One concern I have is the fact that the abuser often follows his/her victim. This could pose noise and safety issues for the other tenants that reside in the same building with the abuse victim. What happens if the abuser shows up at the victim's apartment, banging on doors and disturbing the quiet enjoyment of the other tenants? Is a landlord allowed to evict the abuse victim/tenant in this situation? Or worse, what if the abuser shows up at the property and engages in criminal acts such as destroying the landlord's property or assaulting other tenants who get in his/her way? Will the landlord be prohibited under this new law from evicting the abuse victim/tenant under this scenario? While I don't think it is fair to evict the abuse victim in these situations, I also don't think it is fair that the other tenants and neighbors should have to endure such situations either. What is the landlord who is providing housing to that abuse victim to do? The landlord also owes his/her other tenants the right to quiet use and enjoyment of the property, free from criminal activity and harm.
Another concern is that, under the City of Milwaukee's nuisance ordinances, a landlord can be fined for repeated police calls from the same property within a certain period. If the abuser should try to contact the abuse victim/tenant, there is a strong probability that the victim will call the police (and they should). But under nuisance laws, even if the police calls are legitimate, too many of them can get the property owner fined. If the landlord doesn't pay the fine, it will be added to his/her property tax bill. While I have no supporting data, I think it stands to reason that a victim of abuse may need to contact the police more often than a non-victim of abuse
I don't know what the answer is, or what it should be. I certainly don't think that victims of abuse should be discriminated against in housing, but I also hope that the legislators, the police, the city, and others who will be drawn into this dialogue will understand that there needs to be some protections or accommodations made for a landlord who may be stuck between the proverbial "rock and a hard place."
Tell me what you think about this new legislation and how it might affect your rental properties.
Here is a link to view the press conference regarding the Victim Fair Housing Act.
