Wisc. Legal Blank Co.'s New & Improved Residential Rental Agreement Is Now Available.

I wanted to alert anyone that is currently using the Residential Rental Agreement that is sold at Wisconsin Legal Blank Co, Inc. (and even those of you who don't : ) that the new and improved version is now available ans is being sold at WLB.

I completed the revisions to the updated Agreement last week. The new version indicates a revision date of 1/4/10 whereas the prior version had a revision date of 1/31/07.

Some of the changes include:

1. I retitled the document "Residential Rental Agreement" -- believe it or not I have seen this document improperly used for commercial properties (Note: I will be drafting a form Commercial Lease in the ensuing months for WLB).

2. I attempted (and think that I succeeded) in removing all legalese from the Agreement in order to make it more understandable for everyone. So you no longer need to read "heretofore" "therein" "hereof" and wonder to yourself "what the heck does that mean?"

3. I eliminated some of the "fill in the blank" sections that were causing confusion for some landlords and property managers. The eliminated sections were not really necessary anyways - so they're outta there.

4. I retitled the "Guarantee" section to "Co-Signer / Guarantor" is an attempt to make it more clear that landlords/managers do not need to have the resident/tenant sign this section. This section need only be signed by individuals (other than the tenant) that are guaranteeing that the tenant will meet all of the conditions in the Agreement. For example: a parent would sign as a co-signer/gurantor for a student tenant that is not employed and/or does not have sufficient credit.

5. I added a sentence that states that if the Landlord provides the Tenant with an Inspection Checklist (a.k.a. "Check-In/Check-Out" form) and the Tenant fails to return it to the Landlord within seven days after the start of the tenancy, that the Tenant will be considered to have accepted the Premises without any exceptions."

6. I deleted the fill in the blank lines relating to "Special Provisions" relating to pets. The purpose for doing this is to alert landlords that there is a separate docuement entitled "Pet Agreement" that they should be using if they are allowing tenants to keep pets -- rather then trying to cram all of that info into 2 lines on the Rental Agreement." By being forced -- "forced" may be too strong of a word -- to use the Pet Agreement a landlord will also notice (on the Pet Agreement form) that s/he may charge the tenant a refundable pet fee and/or a non-refundable pet fee and it will also make the landlord clearly define the specific pet that is being allowed to reside at the Premises.

7. I clarified the section that dealt with the type of notice that a tenant must provide the Landlord prior to vacting. The goal was to make this notice process more understandable for the tenant (and therefore less of a headache for landlords). This revised section will also serve as a default provision should the landlord fail to include another (i.e. longer) notice provision for the tenant. The section includes both a notice provision for month to month tenants and tenants that are under a lease for term.

8. I added a section regarding abandoned personal property. The section states that any personal property that is left at the Premises after the Tenant has vacated will be considered to have no value and to have been abandoned by the Tenant and therefore it may be disposed of by the Landlord, unless the Tenant notifies the Landlord otherwise - in writing - prior to vacating.

9. I added a new provision regarding a tenant's responsibility for maintaining and paying for utilities through the end of theiir tenancy or until the last day that the tenant is responsible for paying rent.

10. I included a new section that defines late fees, security deposits, utility charges and any other penalty or fee set forth in the Agreement as "rent" - much like is done in commercial leases.

11. I added a provision stating tha the landlord/manager represents that there are no code violations or other conditions affecting the habitability of the Premises unless indicated otherwise in writing.

12. I added a new section that clarifies who will be responsible for any extermination costs of the Tenant's unit and under what circumstances.

13. I included a provision recommending that all Tenants purchase renter's insurance and explaining why this is reccomended.

14. I removed the Consent to Assignment or Sub-Lease section. I removed this section to reinforce the fact that landlords of residential rental properties would be better protected by entering into a new Rental Agreement (and other rental documents) with a new individual that moves into the Premises after a prior tenant was evicted or vacated the unit, rather then to just assigning or sub-leasing the Premises and continuing to use the old tenant's rental documents. While this will result in more paperwork for the landlord, the protections that it will provide more than outweigh the additional paper. A Landlord in this situation should have the new tenant sign all new rental documents especially a new Lead-Based Paint Disclosure statement (and provide the new tenant with a new EPA pamphlet) and have the new tenant sign and/or initial a new Nonstandard Rental Provisions document rather then just relying on the old documents that the prior tenant signed. Trust me, if you end up in a court battle (i.e. eviction lawsuit or defending a claim that you violated ATCP 134) or facing the wrath of the EPA, you will be thankful that you used the extra paper.

15. Finally, I cleaned up all of the mispellings, improper grammar, and other typos -- at least I think I did.

I would reccomend that you toss out any old versions of the Rental Agreement that you may have in your possession and the next time that you renew or rent out a rental unit that you use this new and improved Residential Rental Agreement form.