Tristan’s Landlord-Tenant Law Blog
MILWAUKEE CO. TO REQUIRE LLCs TO BE REPRESENTED BY AN ATTORNEY
It has recently come to my attention that Milwaukee County small claims court will in the very near future prohibit any individual other than a lawyer to represent a LLC's in court. This would mean that a landlord that owns his rental property in an LLC would no longer be able to appear in court to pursue his/her eviction case against a tenant. This is a change from how things ...
DNS COMMISSIONER TO SPEAK AT JUNE AASEW MEETING
I hope that AASEW members and non-members will all come out in force to attend the AASEW's June membership meeting on June 15, 2009. Our main speaker will be the Department of Neighborhood Services new Commissioner Mr. Art Dahlberg. We are not yet certain what Mr. Dahlberg's speaking topic will be at this time but check back to this Blog for updates. Mr. Dahlberg has been more than willing to ...
NEW LEGISLATION TO MAKE VICTIMS OF ABUSE A NEW PROTECTED CLASS
On May 14, 2009, Wisconsin Senator Spencer Coggs along with 7 other state senators introduced 2009 Senate Bill 204 entitled 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 ...
AASEW MEETING ON HOW TO BUY FORECLOSED PROPERTIES - MAY 18th
Anyone interested in purchasing foreclosed properties will not want to miss the Apartment Association of Southeastern Wisconsin's upcoming monthly meeting on Monday, May 18, 2009 at 7 pm at the Best Western Midway Hotel located at 1005 S. Moorland Rd. in Brookfield.Attorney James Mulligan, an expert in the area of foreclosures, will be the key note speaker and will discuss how to purchase foreclosed properties as well as provide us ...
5-DAY NOTICES AND LATE FEES IN MILWAUKEE COUNTY
Around March 1, 2009 or so, Milwaukee County court commissioners began dismissing eviction lawsuits that were based on 5 day notices that included any amounts other than "rent."The statute regarding 5 day notices, §704.17, Wis. Stats., states that if a tenant "fails to pay any installment of rent when due" the landlord may issue them a 5 day notice to pay rent or vacate the unit.In the ...
WHO MAY BRING AN EVICTION LAWSUIT
§799.40 of the Wisconsin Statutes states that an eviction action may be commenced by a "person entitled to possession of the property." This law has often been ignored and many eviction lawsuits have been brought in the name of someone other than the owner of the property. Oftentimes a management company is named as the plaintiff rather than the actual owner of the property.Milwaukee County is paying close attention ...
TENANT PROTECTION ACT PASSED
A new law has recently been passed that will affect rental property owners that may be in the unfortunate position of having their properties foreclosed upon as well as those individuals that may be purchasing a property that has been foreclosed. Sen. Lena Taylor's bill referred to as the "Tenant Protection Act" (SB 78) was incorporated into the budget repair bill that was recently passed. The new law requires that ...
A NEW COLLECTIONS TOOL FOR LANDLORDS IS AVAILABLE
The Apartment Association of Southeastern Wisconsin has recently entered into a contract with Rent Recovery Service so that AASEW members can receive a discount on this new collection tool for landlords.You can access Rent Recovery Services from the AASEW website. After providing Rent Recovery Service with the necessary information about your ex-tenant, RRS will send a letter to the debtor advising them of the debt. If the ex-tenant has ...
PASSING OF WORTHLESS CHECKS WILL NOT BE PROSECTED IN CITY OF MILWAUKEE
Issuing a worthless check is a crime in Wisconsin. Accordingly, when a tenant pays his/her rent or security deposit with a worthless check I typically advise my landlord clients to do two things: (1) serve the tenant with the proper notice terminating tenancy for failure to pay rent so that an eviction action can be commenced against the tenant, and (2) report the crime to the local police so that a ...
NEW PUBLISHED CASE ON EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE STAYS
We will soon have a published Wisconsin Court of Appeals decision on the issue of emergency assistance stays in eviction actions that will assist us as landlords in removing the non-paying tenant.Sec. 799.40(4) of the Wisconsin Statutes states that a court must stay an eviction action brought against a tenant that has applied for emergency assistance. The stay remains in effect until it is determined if the ...
TIME TO REVIEW YOUR RENTAL DOCUMENTS
With the new year already upon us, I encourage all property owners and managers to spend some time reviewing their current rental documents so that any needed changes can be made before accepting new applicants. Below are some questions and ideas that may assist you in your review.Is the rent amount that you are charging your current tenants in line with the what other similar properties are being rented for ...
LLCs MUST FILE ANNUAL REPORT WITH DFI
Effective January 1, 2004, all domestic Limited Liability Companies are required to file an Annual Report with the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI).The report is due during the anniversary quarter of the LLC's effective date of organization on record with DFI. The report will be sent to the registered agent of each LLC to the registered office of record. The Annual Report is fairly simple to complete and there is ...
IMPORTANT WEBSITES TO ASSIST WITH SCREENING TENANTS
As I have mentioned before, the screening process is in my opinion the single most important aspect of the rental process. Sufficient time should be spent by the landlord to attempt to ensure that the chosen tenant will be able to live up to and abide by the rental agreement.Below are some websites that I find very helpful during the screening of my tenants.CCAP - Wisconsin's Consolidated Court ...
SCREENING PROSPECTIVE TENANTS
UPDATE - APRIL 15, 2016 ---- Please review my April 15, 2016 blog post on HUD's new guidance regarding the consideration of a rental applicant's criminal history in the screening process as it may impact or alter the information in this blog post.Screening prospective tenants is the single most important aspect of the rental process regardless of whether you are renting residential or commercial property. If done properly, ...
ATCP 134 - RESIDENTIAL RENTAL PRACTICES
If you are a landlord are you familiar with ATCP 134? If not, you definitely need to be. ATCP 134 is a chapter of the Wisconsin Administrative Code that applies to residential rental practices. While these rules were updated in 1998 many well-intentioned landlords are still unfamiliar with their provisions and the rather extreme consequences that may result if you fail to abide by them.The most overlooked - and ...
Welcome to Tristan's Landlord-Tenant Law Blog
Welcome. My name is Tristan Pettit and I am an attorney with the law firm of Petrie & Stocking S.C. One of my specialties is the area of landlord tenant law. I am also the current President of the Apartment Association of Southeastern Wisconsin (AASEW). I have been practicing in the area of landlord tenant law for over 13 years. I appear in eviction ...