Tristan’s Landlord-Tenant Law Blog
Governor Walker Signs 2 Pro-Landlord Bills Into Law
Just wanted to let everone know that in the last few days Governor Walker has signed into law two bills that will positively affect landlords.- On December 7th, Governor Walker signed SB 107 (2011 Wisconsin Act 108) which relates to prohibiting municipalities from creating ordinances that put limits on landlords. If you would like more detail on this law please see my prior blog post on the topic. Here ...
New "Residential Lease Renewal or Notice To Vacate" Form Available at Wisconsin Legal Blank
I have recently completed drafting a new landlord-tenant form that is now available at Wisconsin Legal Blank Co., Inc.The new form is entitled "Residential Lease Renewal or Notice To Vacate" and a sample can be viewed here.Essentially this is a form that a landlord could use when his tenant's lease is ending (and does not automatically renew or revert to a month to month tenancy) and the ...
Landlord Owes $40,000 to Tenant In Baltimore Bed Bug Lawsuit
I stated in one of my prior posts that with the influx of bed bug infestations around the country, that it would only be a matter of time until we saw an increase in bed bug litigation as well.While bed bug litigation is in its infancy, it has taken a large step forward recently.A jury in Baltimore recently awarded a tenant $40,000 in damages, in what is described by the ...
For Those of You Who Thought The Installation of A Smoke Detector Was Simple . . . READ THIS.
AASEW Board member Tim Ballering wrote the City of Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services (DNS) back in June to ask for clarification about the proper placement of smoke detectors in his residential rental units in the city of Milwaukee.Ballering was prompted to write to DNS becasue he felt there was some confusion among DNS inspectors as to where smoke detectors should be installed.Below is the entire text of Ballering's email ...
Don't Miss the 2nd Annual East Side Landlord Think Small Conference on Wednesday November 9, 2011
I will be the featured speaker at the upcoming East Side Landlord Think Small Conference on Wednesday, November 9, 2011 from 3 pm - 6:30 pm at UW-Milwaukee, Chapman Hall located at 2310 E. Hartford Avenue, in the Regent's Room on the 2nd floor.This conference is FREE to any and all interested landlords, with a special focus on Milwaukee's East Side landlords.This conference is composed of 3 componants:1. Featured Speaker - I ...
New Federal Bill Would Add Two New Protected Classes To Federal Fair Housing Act
On September 26, 2011 both chambers of the U.S. Congress introduced legislation that would extend housing discrimination laws to include protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The HOME (Housing Opportunities Made Equal) Act was introduced by Sen. John Kerry and others. The bill would amend the Fair Housing Act to prohibit housing discrimination and intimidation on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.Wisconsin is one ...
New Bills Would Limit Tenant's Attorney's Fees When Suing Landlords
There are two new proposed laws that if passed would limit the amount of attorney’s fees that could be awarded to a tenant that has sued his/her landlord for violation of ATCP 134 to 3 times the amount of compensatory damages in Wisconsin. The proposed legislation (Special Session Assembly Bill 12 & Special Session Senate Bill 12) was introduced by the committee on Senate Organization and the ...
Revised Small Claims Summons Required To Be Used As of November 1, 2011
In a prior post I explained that the small claims jurisdictional limit was increased from $5,000 to $10,000 as of July 1, 2011. This change has necessitated a revision to the mandatory small claims summons form that is required to be used when filing an eviction, replevin, and collection actions under $10,000 (as well as arbitrations confirmations and personal injury claims less than $5,000).So far, the Clerk of Courts has been accepting ...
Crime-Free Lease Bill On The Horizon
On September 12, 2011, on behalf of the AASEW, I traveled to Madison to meet with the Wisconsin Rental Housing Coalition, several legislators’ aides, and an attorney from the Legislative Reference Bureau to assist in the review of and drafting of a new piece of legislation that will greatly affect residential landlords.Not yet a bill, this proposed legislation is referred to as LRB-2098/1 or informally as the “Crime-Free Lease bill.” Initiated ...
Milwaukee County Eviction Court Commissioner To Speak At Next AASEW Meeting on Oct. 17th
On Monday, October 17, 2011, Milwaukee County Eviction Court Commissioner Rosa Barillas will speak at the Apartment Association of Southeastern Wisconsin's general membership meeting.The meeting will start at 7 pm and be held at the Best Western Midway Hotel located at 1005 S. Moorland Road in Brookfield, WI.Commissioner Barillas will speak to the group about mistakes that she sees landlords make in eviction court and how they can ...
Update on Landlord Pre-Emption Bill
It has been awhile since I updated everyone on the pro-landlord legislation that is being addressed in Madison. Senate Bill 107 (SB 107) -- referred to as the Landlord Pre-Emption Bill -- has been passed by the Wisconsin Senate and is currently being reviewed by the House this term (AB 155).You may recall that SB 107 prohibits any municipality from enacting any ordinance that limits a ...
Three Wisconsin Landlords Charged with Violating Fair Housing Laws
Three Wisconsin landlords have recently been charged with violating Fair Housing laws by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).First, in late July, HUD announced that it charged a husband and wife who own a rental property in Brown County with violating the Fair Housing Act for allegedly creatingdifferent rental requirements for a single mother and her son. The charge also alleges that the landlords’ lease agreement ...
Landlords Should Treat Tenant Roommates As One Person To Better Understand Joint and Several Liability and Resolve Tenant Disputes
I receive many calls from landlords who have questions and concerns involving issues involving their tenant roommates. While the problems are often factually different the proper way to analyze the situation and arrive at a resolution to the problem, often depends on the same thing -- something called "joint and several liability."Joint and several liability is a legal concept that, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is defined as "the liability of co-promisors of ...
FREE Landlord-Tenant Law Seminar - September 24th, 2011
I wanted to let you know about a FREE landlord-tenant law seminar that I will be presenting for the City of Milwaukee on Saturday, September 24, 2011.The seminar will start at 9am and run through 11:30 am or so. It will be held at the Anderson Building which is located at 4001 S. 6th Street – 3rd floor in Milwaukee.I will be covering three main topics:Causes for Eviction (including the ...
Petrie & Stocking Unveils New Labor & Employment Law Blog entitled "Talking Workplace Law"
Petrie & Stocking's Labor and Employment team, comprised of Attorneys Roger Pettit, Dave McClurg and Lindsey King, have unveiled a new labor and employment law blog titled "Talking Workplace Law." The blog went live on August 28, 2011.The goal of the blog is to provide cutting edge perspectives on management issues and litigation risks for Human Resource professionals and business owners and others in the Labor and Employment industry.The ...
AASEW's 2011 Landlord Tradeshow To Be Held September 28th at Serb Hall
The Apartment Association of Southeastern Wisconsin’s (AASEW) Annual Rental Property/Real Estate Professionals Tradeshow on September 28th,at Serb Hall in Milwaukee! Our exhibit hall will be open from 12:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. check out the latest in products and servicesfor the rental property industry!Our seminars will run from 12:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. Seminars include:- Bedbug Litigation for Landlords, presented by Attorney Tristan R. Pettit- Organize your Year End Financials, ...
City of Madison Proposes New Legislation That Will Make A Landlord Become His Tenant's Babysitter
In an attempt to curtail house parties or "keggers" in the city of Madison, a new ordinance has been proposed. Legislative File Number 23310, would create section 25.10 of the Madison General Ordinances to prohibit what is referred to as "nuisance parties." The ordinance would require the police to provide a landlord with notice of a nuisance party that occurred at his rental property and require the landlord to take ...
Landlords May Want To Pursue Tenants for Holdover Damages As Well As Other Damages
After a landlord has had her rental property returned through an eviction action or the tenant vacating of their own accord, a landlord has the option of pursuing the ex-tenant for money damages. I have explained in previous posts, that a typical eviction lawsuit includes three causes of actions against the tenant. First, return of the rental property ("eviction"). Second, a claim for past due rent and other fees allowed under the ...
Largest Settlement of State Fair Housing Claim Occurs in Arizona
A 2007 Fair Housing complaint filed by two Arizona tenants alleging that their apartment managers discriminated against them based on their race, nationality and religion, has resulted in the largest state Fair Housing claim to date.In 2007, Soha Abdelrahman and her husband Hany Obrahim filed a lawsuit against their Tempe, Arizona apartment managers claiming discrimination based upon their Arabic race, Egyption nationality and Muslim religion. The defendant in the ...
Bedbugs . . . There Is Insurance For That, Now.
It was only a matter of time and I'm surprised that it didn't come sooner. Two different companies are now offerring bed bug insurance for hotel/motel ownes, universities, and landlords. Willis North America and Aon Risk Services are now offerring seperate lines of this specialty insurance.I have yet to get ahold of a policy to see what it covers and what it excludes but from some articles that I just read in the Baltimore ...