AASEW Meeting: Is Property Management An Art or A Science? - June 17, 2013 at 7 pm.

Join the Apartment Association of Southeastern Wisconsin on June 17th as we have masters of the craft present on Best Practices in Property Management along with the legal ramifications of failing to follow the rules. SE Wisconsin is clearly a pro tenant district so educate yourself to the possible landmines that await you along with what some are doing to avoid them. It will be an educational night with many real world anecdotes -- that I am sure you will be able to relate to -- and practical real world advice you can apply to your business to protect your assets and increase your profits!

When: Monday, June 17, 2013 at 7:00 p.m.

Where: The Best Western, 1005 S. Moorland Road, Brookfield 53005

Who: Attorney Tristan Pettit and Professional Property Manager Stacy Hegg

Cost: Free for current AASEW members, $25 for guests and expired members.

About our speakers

Attorney Tristan Pettit, drafts many of the standardized landlord tenant forms for Wisconsin Legal Blank. Tristan is in eviction court nearly every week representing many members of the Association and other landlords. Tristan presents Landlord Boot Camp for the Association twice a year. He also presents similar courses for attorneys across the state.

Tristan R. Pettit is a shareholder with the Milwaukee law firm of Petrie & Stocking S.C. which has been in existence for over 115 years assisting individuals, families and businesses throughout the state. He focuses his practice in the area of general civil and business litigation with an emphasis on landlord-tenant law.

Mr. Pettit handles both commercial and residential evictions and the accompanying damages claims for his clients throughout the state. He has also been involved in litigation dealing with lead-based paint, bedbugs, Fair Housing (discrimination) claims, building code orders, public nuisance lawsuits, and both the prosecution and defense of Wisconsin Administrative Code - ATCP 134 violations.

He assists clients with the drafting and interpretation of commercial leases and residential rental agreements and other rental documents and is the author of the landlord-tenant legal forms sold at Wisconsin Legal Blank Co., Inc., which are used throughout the state.

Mr. Pettit presents seminars on landlord-tenant law and related matters throughout the state and is a past president of the Apartment Association of Southeastern Wisconsin, Inc. and is currently serving on its Board of Directors. He also is the author of a popular Wisconsin landlord-tenant law blog that can be found at www.LandlordTenantLawBlog.com

Stacy Hegg is a professional property manager who has more than 20 years experience in multi-housing management in the Greater Milwaukee Area.

Stacy's career commenced as a Leasing Consultant at a large market rate community in Glendale while attending Cardinal Stritch College. Upon graduation Stacy became a full time Property Manager on a unique, Section 42 renovation on 24th and Wells. Her extensive and varied experience extends from Section 42 and Section 8 communities to luxury developments. She has managed multi-family portfolios for professional realty companies such as: Ogden, Bielinski, and Bryce Styza Properties. She managed Cedar Square Apartments on the Marquette University Campus for 2 years and currently manages for Wellston Apartments where she oversees a 400 unit portfolio near UW-Milwaukee.

AASEW Meeting: Financing Real Estate In Today's Market ---- May 20, 2013

Please join me at the AASEW's next monthly membership meeting where we will discuss Financing Real Estate in Today's Market.

When: Monday May 20th, 2013 at 7:00 p.m.

Where: The Best Western, 1005 S. Moorland Road, Brookfield 53005

Who: Panel of local lending experts. Details below.

Cost: This meeting is free for current AASEW members, $25 for guests or expired members

Good deals are more abundant today than ever in the past. But we all know low prices at the same time as low interest will not last forever. The deal killer for most is funding those great projects you find. Come to this meeting and get a pulse on the current lending environment from big bank lending to smaller community banks. From hard money lending to the credit union perspective, our panel discussion is sure to have something for you! And speaking of perspective, some of our experts are landlords too!

Knowledge is power! The AASEW is proud to present yet another forum on information you need to succeed in today's economy.

Monday, May 20th at 7 PM is just Around the corner! See you then!"

Our panelists will include:

Rob Seetan - Brewery Credit Union

Rob has lived and worked in Milwaukee for 15 years. His first job in the mortgage industry with Pinnacle Bancorp (no longer exists) as an Account Executive. He started loan originating in Milwaukee 2000. He joined Brewery Credit Union in 2009 and holds the position of originator, underwriter and administrator for Brewery Credit Union founded as Brewery Workers Credit Union in 1934. Brewery CU maintains about 15% of its portfolio with small investment properties (no commercial lending). The majority of their investment units are within the City of Milwaukee. Brewery Credit Union was granted special privileges by US Treasury Dept. through our Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) designation.

Luke Hagel - Commerce State Bank

Luke has been working in the banking industry for about 9.5 years. He began my career with Wisconsin Business Development as a credit analyst in 2003. While at the WBD he learned a lot about SBA lending, specifically relating to the SBA 504 and 7a programs. Hejoined Commerce State Bank in January of 2008 and has worked as part of the commercial lending team there since that time. Luke grew his own portfolio which is currently about $50MM in loans comprised mostly of C&I loans (Real estate, LOC's, equipment, etc.). Luke assists in nearly all SBA lending done at the bank. Luke graduated magna cum laude from Ripon College with a B.A. in Business Management in 2003 where he also served as a Student Mentor, Resident Assistant (R.A.) and member of both the college Baseball and Football teams. Luke also graduated magna cum laude from UW-Milwaukee with a Masters of Business Admin in 2006. He currently resides in West Bend with his wife and 3 kids.

Chris Wilz - Senior Lender US Bank

Chris is Vice President & Relationship Manager for US Bank, Business Banking division. He has over 11 years of experience with commercial lending and in the financial services industry. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin - Madison Business School majoring in Finance, Investments & Banking. Chris works with commercial real estate investors and business owners to provide financing for real estate loans, equipment loans or leases, and lines of credit, in addition to the full breath of banking products and services the bank has to offer. For three consecutive years, Chris has received an Annual Pinnacle award for being one of the top producers at US Bank.

Scott Lurie - F Street Investments, Jomela Properties

Scott, a local Milwaukee businessman earned his B.A. in Finance from The George Washington University. After college, Scott spent 2 years in the M&A industry serving as an analyst for Kaulkin Ginsberg Company. After moving back to the Midwest, Scott worked for his family heading a division of Lurie Glass. In August of 2004, Scott let his entrepreneurial spirit get the better of him and began investing in real estate. After purchasing a Homevestors of America franchise, Scott got involved in real estate acquisitions, financing, and property management. His relationship with Homevestors ended in February 2009. Scott continues to be involved in real estate and finance. To date, Scott has bought and sold over 125 houses in addition to building a rental portfolio of 1400 units which are self managed. In addition to the multiple real estate acquisitions Scott has been involved in, he also specializes in "hard money" financing. With over $12 Millions in deals financed to date Scott gets it done! Scott's interest outside of the office are his family, golf, tennis, and travel.

HUD Issues Notice on Assistance Animals and Reasonable Accommodations For Persons with Disabilities

Today the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a notice on assistance animals and reasonable accomodations for persons with disabilities.

Not to long ago I wrote a post that dealt with this subject. HUD's new notice also adds clarifying information to that post.

Disability-related complaints, including those that involve assistance animals, are the most common discrimination complaint that HUD receives per John Trasvina, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and and Equal Opportunity, so HUD felt a need to publish this Notice to provide further guidance on the topic.

The notice will provides landlords and management companies with an explanation how to properly treat a request by a tenant or their guest for a reasonable accommodation to the landlord's "no pet" policy. Below are some highlights from the Notice but I strongly encourage everyone to read the entire Notice.

Highlights:

1. While the definition of a "service animal" under the ADA has been limited to include only dogs that have been specifically trained (and it specifically excludes emotional support animal) this limited ADA definition DOES NOT limit a landlord's obligations to make reasonable accommodations for assistance animals under the Fair Housing Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act ot 1973, (or Wisconsin's Open Housing Law for that matter)/

2. A reasonable accommodation analysis must be considered when persons with disabilities use (or seek to use) assistance animals in housing where the landlord forbids residents from having pets or otherwise imposes restrictions or conditions relating to the pet.

3. Assistance animals provide many disability-related functions including, but not limited to:

a. guiding individuals who are blind or sight-impaired

b. alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing

c. providing protection or rescue assistantance

d. pulling a wheelchair

e. fetching items

f. alerting persons to impending seizures

g. providing emotional support to persons with disabilities who have a disability-related need for such support.

4. For purposes of a reasonable accommodations request, there is no requirement that the animal be individually trained or certified.

5. Landlords are to evaluate a requests for a reasonable accommodation to posses an assistance animal in a rental unit using the general principles applicable to all reasonable accommodations requests.

6. After receiving such a request a landlord must consider the following:

a. Does the person have a disability?

b. Does the person have a disability-related need for an assistance animal?

If the answer to both questions is "yes" then the federal laws (and Wisconsin's Open Housing laws) requires a landlord to modify or provide an exception to its "no pets" rule or policy so that the tenant can have an assistance animal.

7. The request for an assistance animal can be denied, even if the answers to the above questions were "yes", if:

a. the specific assistance animal poses a direct threat to the health and safety of others that cannot be reduced or eliminated by another reasonable accommodation.

b. the specific assistance animal would cause substantial physical damage to the porperty of others that cannot be reduced or eliminated by another reasonable accommodation.

8. Breed, size, and weight limitations may not be applied to an assistance animal.

9. Landlords may not require applicants and residents to pay a deposit for an assistance animal.

10. Landlords may require a tenant to cover the cost of repairs for damage caused by an assistance animal to the rental unit or common areas after it has occurred.

11. Landlords may ask individuals with disabilities who's disability is not readily apparent or known to the landlord, to submit reliable documentation of a disability and their disability-related need for an assistance animal. The documentation is considered sufficient if it establishes the person has a disability and that the animal will provide some type of disability-related assistance or emotional support.

12. A determination as to whether a person has a disability-related need for an assistance animal involves an individualized assessment. There are no birhgt line rules here. The analysis is very fact specific.

13. A delayed response to a request for a reasonable accommodation could be considered a violation if the delay is solely to frustrate the process.

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 John's handout from the meeting which was entitled "Top Ten Pitfalls That Landlords Should Avoid."

Like any good Top 10 list (a la David Letterman), John presented these pitfalls in reverse oreder based on importance. The pitfalls to avoid included:

10. Mailing the 5 Day Notice

9. Digging The Hole Too Deep

8. Incomplete Applications

7. Not Asking The Right People (about your rental applicant)

6. Auto-Renewing A Lease

5. 14 Day Notice (or NOT)

4. "Do-It-Yourself" Leases or Rental Forms

3. Misuse of CCAP

2. Carpet Cleaning

1. That Lease is HOW LONG?

As John stated during his presentation, there are a lot of things that are beyond our control that make life as a landlord very difficult at times. As such, we certainly do not want to make life more difficult for ourselves based on a lack of knowledge of landlord-tenant laws . . . unless we are masochists, that is.

The AASEW has another great meeting scheduled for May 20, 2013 at 7 pm at the Best Western Midway in Brookfield about "How To Finance Real Estate Transactions In The Current Economy."

Another Way That Landlords Can Teach Tenant Roommates the Concept of Joint & Several Liability (and Collect Rent)

I recently received an email from the Gino Zahnd the CEO of a company called Cozy based in the San Franciso area. Gino's company assists landlords in collecting rent and referenced my blog post discussing the concept of "joint and several liability" in which I explain how landlords should treat roommates as "one person" in order to impress upon tenants the concept of joint and several liability. Joint and Several liability is a landlord's best friend and makes life much easier for us. If you are not already treating your tenant roommates as one person then I suggest you start doing so in the near future.

It appears as if Cozy offers a rent payment product to landlords that may assist in the rent collection process especially with roommates. Gino's blog posts mentions some of the practical issues of getting one rent check from several roommates and their product attempts to assist with that. While I have not tried Cozy's product it sounds intersting. If any of my followeres uses it or tries it out in the future please let me know what you think.

Here is the post from Gino that references my blog.

T

https://cozy.co/blog/doing-payments-the-right-way/

Next AASEW Meeting: Dr. Rent's Top Ten Landlording Pitfalls To Avoid - April 15th

The AASEW's next meeting will feature Dr. Rent's TOP TEN Landlording Pitfalls to Avoid

When: Monday April 15th, 2013 at 7:00 p.m.

Where: The Best Western, 1005 S. Moorland Road, Brookfield 53005

Who: John "Dr. Rent" Fisher

Cost: This meeting is free for current AASEW members, $25 for guests or expired members

Bad things happen to good people. When a good landlord falls victim to a bad tenant, we all know the results. Dealing with bad tenants is already hard enough, but too often good landlords fall victim to their own mistakes as well. Dr. Rent will discuss the 10 most common mistakes that he has seen in over two decades as a landlord in Wisconsin. One of the best things that we can all do is learn from our mistakes, but Dr. Rent has found it wiser to learn from others.

About our speaker: John H. Fischer is a Wausau, Wisconsin area landlord. He started working part-time with Emmerich & Associates, Inc. in 1993 and since then has worked in nearly every aspect of the real estate investment field. He has been involved with residential, commercial and industrial rental properties as well as vacant land sales and condominium development.

Observing a number of old and new landlords going to court and having a hard time because of their not understanding Wisconsin's complicated laws and procedures, Mr. Fischer has been making an effort to educate Landlords on the proper way to do things for over a decade, and has taught classes on everything from accounting, to proper management procedures to Landlord-Tenant law. He has provided training sessions through Lorman and Sterling educational services. He has also presented seminars to a number of local apartment associations as well as the Wisconsin Apartment Association. He offers a series of courses in real estate investing through the University of Wisconsin Continuing Education program.

Mr. Fischer holds a real estate Broker license and is past president of the Wausau Area Apartment Association and Wisconsin Apartment Association. He is a member of Wausau's Housing Code Task Force. He has degrees in International Business Management (with Honors) as well as Human Resources Management (with Honors) from the University of Wisconsin - Madison School of Business. He is also a graduate of the Bryce Harlow Institute for Business and Government Affairs, Georgetown University, Washington, DC.

You will not want to miss this meeting!!

Hope to see everyone there.

T

Next AASEW Meeting - The Ins & Outs of Evicting - March 18th

The next AASEW meeting will focus on the "The Ins & Outs of Evicting."

The meeting will be held on Monday, March 18th, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. at the Best Western Hotel located at 1005 S. Moorland Road in Brookfield.

The speakers will be Attorney Tristan Pettit of Petrie & Stocking S.C. and Detective Jon Nilsen of the Milwaukee County Eviction Squad.

Atty. Pettit will discuss the top reasons that the courts dismiss landlord's evictions and Det. Nilson will speak to us about how the execution of a writ of restitution works and what the Sheriff's Department does to remove tenants that refuse to leave our rental properties after being ordered by the court to vacate. Det. Nilsen will also tell us what we can do as landlords to provide the Sheriff's Department with the necessary and vital information that they need in order to safely complete the eviction process.

Attorney Tristan Pettit focuses his practice on representing landlords and property management companies throughout SE Wisconsin. Atty. Pettit is the presenter of the AASEW's popular Landlord Boot Camp and also drafts the landlord-tenant forms that are sold by Wisconsin Legal Blank and used throughout the state. Tristan is in eviction court in Milwaukee County every week representing many members of the Association and other landlords and property managers.

Detective Nilsen has been with the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department for 29 years and a Detective since 1995. He has served in various capacities within the Sheriff's Department including being a member of SWAT team for 14 years, the mounted unit, working as a bailiff in the courts, and patrolling the freeways. Since 1995 Detective Nilsen has worked with the eviction squad.

This meeting is free for current AASEW members and $25 for everyone else.

Hope that you all can make it.

GUEST POST: The Importance of Rentals In Milwaukee

Below is a very thought provoking guest post from fellow blogger (and friend and fellow AASEW Board Member) Tim Ballering:

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The Journal is reporting:

Over the next three years, Barrett said raze orders in the city are expected to grow to 1,600 homes, with a cost of $24 million. ”We have a very severe problem right now,” Barrett said.

No kidding we have a “severe problem ” This a problem that continues to grow rather than moderating. The number of abandoned and foreclosed houses was bad nine months ago and with fresh snow on the ground you can see even a greater number of unoccupied properties than ever before. At least here on the Southside of Milwaukee these numbers are far worse than what is being reported by the city.

How much of the $24 million of anticipated razing costs could be avoided by making it more favorable to rehab properties and restore them to the tax rolls?

Perhaps the city would do better by working with, instead of against people willing to invest their own money, time and effort into putting foreclosures back in service. I’m not even suggesting a hand up, just not the current beat down attitude. Not only would there be less spent on bulldozing, but more of the tax base would remain plus the positive economic impact for the community due to spending by owners to maintain and operate this housing.

Between taxes and the sewer and water bills the city gets at least $5-6 million per year from 1600 functional properties. In the three year period Barrett defines this is a potential of $18 million in city revenue if the buildings were returned to occupancy. Add this to the $24 million to bulldoze and you are north of 40 million dollars.

Can every property that is deemed to be worthy of razing able to be salvaged, of course not. But many that are in the pipeline today can be. Every day that a property sits unattended is a day closer to the wrecking ball being the only option for that property. There are many properties sitting vacant today that are worthy of repair, but will not be so six months or a year from now.

Additionally every time someone like you or I take on the challenge of putting properties back in service the local economy sees a benefit through the wages and materials we pay to get the job done. All but one of my employees live in the city. While the money you spend at the Home Depot doesn’t stay in Milwaukee, the person who is employed by the Home Depot lives in the area and spend their wages here.

A downside for us, but an upside for the community is a greater amount of housing stock available holds rents down. A more competative market also forces owners to do more to properties to get and keep them rented.

Once the property is back in service ongoing maintenance similarly impacts the local economy in a positive manner. It is estimated that repairs and improvements to rental properties represent $90 -120 million a year in the city of Milwaukee alone. (These numbers are derived from our company’s experiences, the experiences of other long term owners that I’ve discussed this with and data from the Census Bureau’s Property Owners and Managers Survey. Our data and that of many other owners indicate a slightly higher number than the Census)

Our company has the capacity and had the will to do 10-12 such projects a year without any government monies. Heck if the environment was more favorable I could see us doing two properties a month. We have not made an offer in MIlwaukee since November due the unfavorable policies adopted by the city. See my prior post on buying foreclosures in Milwaukee. I talk to a lot of other owners with similar capacities that say the same thing.

Milwaukee acts like they are the only girl at the dance – as though real estate investors need to accept their petty obstructions and poor treatment because they are the only game in town. But there are many other places to invest that treat owners much better. One of our members is doing a big rehab in Beloit. When I asked his project manager how it was going with the city he said they were unbelievably nice and truly seem they want to see the project succeed. We are actively looking at the South Florida market today.

A few notes:

These 1,600 properties must be city owned or near to being city owned. If they were bank owned the city could and would force the banks to demo the properties on the bank’s dime. A growing trend is banks that simply walked away from the mortgage rather than be subjected to the bad side of city regulations and fees. In another instance I spoke to an owner who the bank sued- he thought he lost the properties to foreclosure only to find out later that it was a money judgment only suit. This adds to the zombie housing effect. And you though only borrowers walked away. ;-)

Our police chief is in the news speaking about the link between foreclosed and abandoned housing and crime. I am certain he is correct on this. But the Milwaukee Police do not do what they should in cases of property vandalism. See my prior post on property vandalism and the lack of police response. This vandalism accelerate the rate of properties that are no longer viable for rehab.

East Side Landlord "Think Small" Seminar Event on March 13th

Make plans to attend the fourth East Side Landlord Think Small event hosted by UWM!

This event is free and open to all interested landlords, with a special focus on Milwaukee's East Side.

This spring's event promises to be very engaging with featured presenter Attorney Tristan Pettit, who focuses his practice on representing landlords and management companies in landlord-tenant law matters.

Topics will include screening potential tenants and recent updates to landlord-tenant laws in Wisconsin.

As always, there will be networking time to share ideas with fellow attendees, Q&A time with the presenter, and light refreshments will be served.

Event Details

Date: Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Location: Chapman Hall on the UWM Campus, 2310 E Hartford Ave, Regents Room (2nd Floor)

Time: 4:30pm-6:00pm

Please RSVP to Heather Harbach at harbach@uwm.edu. Your registration helps us in our planning for this event. Please feel free to share this with other landlords that might find this session interesting! If you have further questions, please contact Heather Harbach, UWM Neighborhood Relations Liaison by e-mail at harbach@uwm.edu or by calling 414-229-4451.

Hope To See You There!

So Let's Talk About . . . Companion/Comfort Animals In Rental Properties

I have been promising that I would blog about this topic for months (could it possibly be over a year even) and the time has finally come. So let's talk about companion/comfort animals in rental properties.

Background:

I will use the terms comfort animals and companion animals interchangeably throughout this post.

So we are all on the “same page" a companion animal is an animal that is NOT specifically trained or certified but rather provides a tenant with a disability with emotional support. Specifically trained and certified animals that assist people with disabilities is beyond the scope of this post.

Wisconsin does not have a specific statute related to comfort animals. Many people improperly think that sec. 106.50(2r)(4)(bm), Wis. Stats. entitled “Animals Assisting People with Disabilities" applies to companion animals. It does not. That section deals only with specially trained and certified animals that help people with mobility, vision or hearing impairments. Comfort animals are not specially trained and/or certified and they do assist people with disabilities afecting more than just mobility, hearing and vision.

So what is the applicable Wisconsin law dealing with companion animals or comfort animals if they do not fall under this provision? Comfort animals are dealt with under a much more broad section of fair housing law dealing with "reasonable accommodations" which can be found at sec. 106.50(2r)(4), Wis. Stats.

A "reasonable accommodation" is a request made by a tenant for a change in a landlord's rules, policies, practices or services that are associated with housing when such accommodation is necessary to afford an individual equal opportunity to use and enjoy housing.

For example, a request by a tenant to keep a companion animal is a request for a reasonable accommodation to a landlord's "no pet" policy.

The Law:

It is considered to be discriminatory to refuse to allow a tenant's request to keep a comfort animal if they meet the following requirements:

1. The tenant meets the definition of having a disability under Wisconsin or federal law ("an individual with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person regarded as having such an impairment, or a person with a record of such an impairment").

2. The accommodation must be necessary to afford the disabled tenant an equal opportunity to use and enjoy the rental property.

3. There must be an identifiable relationship (or nexus) between the tenant's disability and the request.

So in the case of a request for a companion animal, the tenant must demonstrate a nexus between their disability and the function or service that the companion animal provides.

A landlord may request reliable disability-related information from a tenant that is necessary to: (1) verify that the tenant meets the definition of having a disability, (2) describes the needed accommodation, and (3) shows the relationship between the two. If the disability is open and obvious then the landlord should not request verification of the disability from the tenant.

The tenant's specific disability need not even be disclosed - just the fact that the tenant has a disability is sufficient.

A tenant's request for a reasonable accommodation may be oral or in writing and the actual term "reasonable accommodation" need not be used. The request can even be made by someone on the tenant's behalf.

Practical Effects:

In case you are wondering, the threshold that a tenant must meet in order to be able to keep a comfort animal is very low.

It is not even required that the tenant's doctor confirm that the tenant has a disability. HUD and DOJ's Joint Statement on Reasonable Accommodations Under The Fair Housing Act (May 17, 2004) states that a doctor or “other medical professional, a peer support group, a non-medical service agency, or a reliable third party who is in a position to know about the tenant's disability" may provide the verification of the tenant's disability.

As mentioned previously, a tenant's comfort animal need not be specially trained or certified. A comfort/companion animal can be any type of animal that the tenant wants. It could be the dog or cat (or mouse, rat, lizard, fish, . . . ) that the tenant owned prior to becoming disabled. It could be the stray dog that the tenant found walking down the alley last week. It could be a cat that the tenant's mother no longer wants in her house. It could be the rat that the tenant bought at the local pet shop.

I have read articles, case law, and been involved in cases in which all kinds of animals have been requested to serve as a tenant's companion animals . . . a miniature horses (because it would live longer than a dog and the tenant's mental health disability would be exacerbated by the death of another dog that wouldn't not outlive her), 5 cats (each one allegedly assisted the person with a different aspect of their disability), snakes (tenant was allergic to dander), and pit bulls (why . . . . just because). There is no limit on the type/breed, size, or age of a companion animal.

So if the tenant wants a Bull Mastiff as their companion animal even though they live in an efficiency apartment and a much smaller dog could serve the same purpose, they can do that.

A landlord can deny a tenant's request for a companion animal if it:

1. Poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others unless the threat can be eliminated or greatly reduced.

2. Results in substantial physical damage to the property of others unless the threat can be eliminated or greatly reduced.

3. Poses an undue financial burden and administrative burden.

4. Fundamentally alters the nature of the housing provider's operations.

For example, a landlord could exclude a tenant's comfort animal if that animal's behavior poses a direct threat because it attacked another tenant.

In order to make a decision to deny a tenant's reasonable accommodation request to keep an animal that poses a direct threat to others safety, you will be required to go through a very fact intensive analysis. You cannot just refuse the tenant's pit bull comfort animal just because you might believe that all pit bulls are inherently dangerous. There must be a direct threat not just a speculative risk. Even if the animal was once dangerous, if the tenant takes the animal to obedience training, administers medication, or purchases the animal equipment (like a muzzle) which causes the animal to no longer be dangerous, then it may no longer be reasonable to exclude the animal.

I have worked with many landlords and management companies in analyzing whether a tenant's request for a reasonable accommodation to keep a companion animal should be granted. Without a doubt the single most difficult concept for my clients to accept is that a comfort animal IS NOT A PET.

I find it easier for landlords to understand this concept if they think of the comfort animal as an assistive device such as a wheelchair, crutches, or pain medication. By thinking this way, many landlords will be better able to keep themselves out of trouble. Let me explain provide an example.

One of my clients generally understood that he had to allow his tenant to keep a comfort animal but he was wondering if he could at the very least require the tenant (and the companion animal) to live in the one building in his apartment complex that allowed pets. It was a very innocent question and one that I sure many landlords might have themselves.

The answer is a resounding “NO." Why is that?

Remember, a companion animal is not a pet. Again, think of the companion animal as an assistive device such as a wheelchair. Would it be acceptable to require all tenants that use wheelchairs to live in one building together? Would it be OK to require all tenants that are prescribed antidepressant medication to live on the same floor? Of course not. Well the same goes with the tenant with the companion animal.

Since comfort animals are not pets a landlord is also not allowed to make the tenant that has one enter into a Pet Agreement or pay a monthly pet fee or even a pet deposit.

Having said that, a tenant that has a companion animal is still responsible for the animal's behavior and any damage that it may cause. For example, the tenant must still pick up after the companion animal. The tenant must still keep the comfort animal on a leash and prevent it from jumping on or harming others. The tenant must still prevent the comfort animal from making excessive noise or damaging the rental property.

If a tenant does not take responsibility for the actions of their companion animal a landlord has every right to serve that tenant with the appropriate notice to correct breach or vacate and evict if them if needed. Since comfort animals are not specially trained or certified poor behavior is often an issue. I have had to evict several tenants with companion animals as a result of their poor behavior. In one case the companion animal which happened to be a dog repeatedly escapeed from the rental unit and ran free in the common areas of the building. Another case the animal (a dog again) bit another tenant. Another, involved a dog that crapped all over the lawn and the tenant refised to pick up after it.

Conclusion:

The popularity of comfort/companion animals is not waning. I expect that landlords and management companies will be getting more and more requests as more people are being diagnosed and treated for mental health issues for which a companion animal may prove helpful. Not to mention that many war veterans are returning with PTSD, depression, and/or anxiety, for which comfort animals are being prescribed. And there will always be those tenants that just want to have a pet without having to pay a pet fee or move to a rental unit that allows pets, so they buy a pet, play the system, and “disguise" their pet as a comfort animal.

If you have not already dealt with a request by a tenant for a reasonable accommodation to your “no pet" or “limited pet" policy, I am certain that you soon will. As such, it is very important that you educate yourself on the applicable laws so that you can properly handle such a request from a tenant and not run afoul of federal or state laws.

If you would like to learn more about comfort animals, reasonable accomodations, and fair housing (discrimination) law considering attending the AASEW's upcoming LANDLORD BOOT CAMP on February 23rd, 2013.

04-30-13 UPDATE: HUD has issued a Notice on Assistance Animals and Reasonable Accomodations For Persons with Disabilities. See my post on this.

It's Not Why Should You Join the Apartment Association of SE Wisconsin . . . It's Why Wouldn't You?

By Joe Dahl (President of the Apaartment Association of Southeastern Wisconsin, Owner of Milwaukee Metro Management, and guest blogger)

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Why Join the AASEW?

Since becoming President of the Apartment Association of Southeastern Wisconsin (AASEW) earlier this year and traveling around southeast Wisconsin promoting the group, I am continuously asked by prospective members “Why should I join the AASEW?”

I admit that my first reaction is often to turn the question around and ask the prospective member, “why wouldn’t you belong to the largest trade organization in our industry which has been tirelessly advocating for landlord rights and businesses in general?” I want to ask them if they are aware that the AASEW has saved landlords and the rental industry in general millions of dollars by fighting unfair laws and ordinances. The AASEW has been at the forefront of issues ranging from lead paint to property recording fees and were the only organization to fight against the city of Milwaukee’s Residential Rental Inspection (RRI) program, spending almost $100,000 dollars while lobbying and litigating against this unconstitutional program.

However more often than not, I politely explain to the prospective member at least 5 reasons that they should join the AASEW.

1. There Is Strength In Numbers

Have you seen the video of the 2.3 million toothpicks against the tiger? If not, you should as the story is a good analogy for our industry. We have over 40,000 landlords in Southeaster Wisconsin. Individually, none of us have a chance against the tiger (= state/local government).

The City of Milwaukee’s Residential Rental Inspection program is a great example of this. I have not met one landlord who agrees with this program. Even if your rental units are in great shape and have no significant deferred maintenance – by the way I own and manage rental units in both of the targeted areas and have received only minor violations -- I am sure that you take issue with having to pay a government employee to come into your property to look for code violations. However the “tiger” is strong and hungry (i.e. broke) so he turns to his number one prey for sustenance -- landlords.

As mentioned above, the AASEW fought this ordinance from the start. We talked and lobbied city officials and when that failed, we assisted affected owners by funding a lawsuit. Unfortunately in the end, we did not have enough strength to resist the attack, and we lost.

The proper approach to defeat this type of legislation is multifaceted and will require greater strength and more involvement by landlords in the future. Going forward however, we first need to support the aldermen who -- just like us -- were against the RRI program. Second, we need to educate the politicians about the economic impact that landlords have in SE Wisconsin. I’m fond of saying if we were in the business of manufacturing widgets, politicians would be tripping over one another to throw both money and praise on us. That certainly is not happening currently.

This year I will be asking the AASEW’s Board of Directors to authorize a comprehensive analysis of the economic contribution our industry makes in this region, and more importantly the pejorative impact that excessive fees and punitive ordinances have on our ability to hire employees, grow our small businesses, and contribute to the financial well-being of Wisconsin. The resulting report from this analysis will then be distributed to every politician in the area.

Third, we need to become more organized and efficient at getting out the vote. Which alderman/legislator is most unsympathetic to our cause? How many units do we control in his/her district? How do we get the message out to our customers (tenants) that a certain politician is not acting in their best interests? How do we mobilize tenants to express their dissatisfaction at the polls? We must hold the “tiger” accountable, and remember that he will not stop unless he is forced to stop.

In two years the RRI program will be reviewed for possible city-wide expansion. I promise you friends, that if you think the “tiger” is going to limit his hunting area to just the current pilot areas of Lindsay Heights and the UWM areas, you are soon going to be the “tiger’s” dinner. We must organize now for this imminent expansion and stop the “tiger” in his tracks!

2. Bad Laws Travel

Many of my colleagues with property outside of the Milwaukee area do not see the value of joining the AASEW as many of the most repressive ordinances and aggressive enforcement occur in Milwaukee. To this I frequently remind them that the Residential Rental Inspection program had its roots in an ordinance passed in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Our esteemed commissioner of the Department of Neighborhood Services at the time admired greatly the efforts of our northern counterparts in “holding landlord’s accountable.” Similar ordinances to Milwaukee’s are already popping up in other parts of Wisconsin.

Unfortunately Milwaukee is often the testing ground for such new laws, and if we are not organized enough to be in a position to stop them here, other areas will suffer as well. I assure you that what happens in Milwaukee does not just stay in Milwaukee – it can impact all of Southeast Wisconsin

3. Education

We are fortunate to have the premier landlord-tenant law attorney in the state of Wisconsin on the AASEW’s Board of Directors. Attorney Tristan Pettit’s reputation for vigorously defending landlords is laudable and the respect that he garners from his peers and the court’s is undeniable. Tristan is a landlord himself and recognizes that the best way for us to protect ourselves is to educate ourselves. Every owner/operator should attend the AASEW’s Landlord Boot Camp and rental property management companies should send each of their managers to this all-day seminar. Tristan and other AASEW board members constantly evaluate our curriculum to ensure that our members have access to the most current information so that it can positively impact their businesses and bottom lines.

4. Discounts

The AASEW is actively working on implementing ways to leverage rental property owners and managers’ group purchasing power in order to lower our individual costs. Possibilities include providing members a discount card that they can present to vendors in order to receive a discount and other innovative ways to implement group purchasing power. For an example look at some of the ideas of AASEW board member Tim Ballering.

5. Mentoring

Every successful landlord has had someone who gave them a guiding hand or some good advice along the way. I can say without a doubt that the reason that my business is as successful as it is is because I was fortunate enough to have a mentor named Dennis Miskowski who taught me the fundamentals of the trade.

Having the ability to turn to such a successful landlord for advice saved me a lot of wasted effort and energy. Mindful of what he has done for me, I have taken an interest in mentoring others and will not hesitate to field questions from young energetic (and at times naïve) landlords about the nature of our business. One of my favorite things about the AASEW is that it is a venue for those who have received to give back to others. Conversely, it provides those who are new to the business and hungry for information an opportunity to meet others who are already where the newer landlord wish to go.

There are countless other reasons to join the AASEW, but after I talk about the reasons above, most interested members are tired of hearing me talk (and probably of reading this post) and decide to join the AASEW in order to shut me up. I encourage you to get active in the AASEW and help make Wisconsin a better place for landlords to do business.

All the best.

Joe

joe@milwaukeemetromanagement.com

5th Annual Landlord Boot Camp Is Just Around the Corner - February 23, 2013 - Register now.

Landlording can be pretty complex, with a seemingly never ending myriad of paperwork, rules, landlord-tenant laws and simple mistakes that can cost you thousands.

The Apartment Association of Southeastern Wisconsin's Fifth “Landlord Boot Camp” can help you navigate these treacherous waters and learn how to run your properties with greater profit and less hassles.

Who: Taught by Attorney Tristan Pettit, who drafts the landlord tenant forms for Wisconsin Legal Blank.

Attorney Tristan Pettit has given similar landlord-tenant law seminars to fellow attorneys, landlords, and property manager organizations that charge their members $300-$400. This is your opportunity to learn all of the same information at a huge discount through the Apartment Association .

When: Saturday, February 23rd 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM ---- Registration opens at 7:00 AM

Where: Clarion Hotel 5311 S. Howell Avenue, Milwaukee [Map]

Included: 100 plus page manual to help you put what you learn into practice.

Price:

Early Bird – Sign up before Feb. 13th, 2013 and save

• Members $159
• Non-Members $249

Regular Registration after Feb. 13, 2013 but before Feb. 20th, 2013

• Members $259
• Non-Members $349

Sorry, no registrations accepted after 5 PM Feb. 20th, 2013

Specials: Not a member? Pay just $1 more and enjoy a full 10 months of AASEW membership.

Wisconsin landlord-tenant laws are constantly changing. To help keep you up to date we offer prior attendees a $50 discount.

Read prior attendees' testimonials.

What you will learn at the Apartment Association's 2013 Landlord Boot camp

Landlord Boot Camp covers everything that you need to know about residential Landlord Tenant law in Wisconsin, as amended by Act 143, including:

1. How to properly screen prospective tenants.
2. How to draft written screening criteria to assist you in the selection process.
3. How to comply with both federal and state Fair Housing laws including how to comply with “reasonable modifications” and “reasonable accommodations” requests.
4. How to legally reject an applicant.
5. What rental documents you should be using and why.
6. When you should be using a 5-day notice versus a 14-day notice, 28-day notice, or 30-day notice and how to properly serve the notice on your tenant.
7. Everything you wanted to know (and probably even more than you wanted to know) about the Residential Rental Practices (ATCP 134) and how to avoid having to pay double damages to your tenant for breaching ATCP 134.
8. When you are legally allowed to enter your tenant’s apartment.
9. How to properly draft an eviction summons and complaint.
10. What to do to keep the commissioner from dismissing your eviction suit.
11. What you can legally deduct from a security deposit.
12. How to properly draft a security deposit transmittal / 21 day letter.
13. How to handle pet damage.
14. What to do with a tenant’s abandoned property and how this may affect whether or not you file an eviction suit.
15. How to pursue your ex-tenant for damages to your rental property and past due rent (and whether it is even worth it to do so).
16. An ample question and answer period. This alone is worth the admission.

    . . . and much more.

You get all this for less than you would pay for an hour of an attorney's time.

Last year’s AASEW Landlord Boot Camp was filled to capacity. So much so we even had to turn a few people away.

You can sign up online at here or call the Association at (414) 276-7378 or email us at membership@apartmentassoc.org today to reserve your spot.

Remember that “landlording” is a business — so take the time to educate yourself on how to better manage your business and avoid costly errors!

Next AASEW Meeting: "Do You Have Proper Insurance For Your Rentals" - January 21, 2013

Join us at the AASEW's next monthly membership meeting on January 21, 2013 at 7 pm at the Best Western Hotel (1005 S. Moorland Road, Brookfield).

The presentation will be entitled "Do You Have Proper Insurance For Your Rental Property?"

Bob Dummer of P&C Insurance and Dan Schani of Dan Schani Insurance Agency will be the featured speakers.

If you're like me, the topic of insurance sounds pretty boring ... that is until you are standing in front of the burned shell of one of your properties. Then the only thing you can think about is insurance.

Rather than hoping you made the right decisions for cost effective insurance, take an hour and learn from some of the best in the industry. How do I know they're a couple of the best? I've worked with both. Bob is my primary insurance agent. Dan is a former AASEW board member.

- Tim Ballering, Affordable Rental Associates, LLC

Meeting is free for current AASEW members, $25 for guests or expired members

Hope to see you there.

T

5 Things This Landlords' Attorney Wants For Christmas

With the coming of the holidays, comes list of gifts that people want for Christmas. So I thought I would put together one of my own. So here is a list of the top 5 things that this landlords' lawyer would like for Christmas.

5. That Tenants' Requests For Reasonable Accommodations To Allow for the Keeping of Companion/Comfort Animals Would Actually Be "Reasonable"

The past few years -- and especially this past year -- have seen a large rise in requests by tenants for a reasonable accommodation to landlords' "no pet" or "limited pet" policies specifically to allow for the keeping of a companion/comfort animal. A companion/comfort animal does not need to be specially trained and therefore can be any type of animal including the family dog, cat, gunea pig, or even a miniature horse. A tenant can ask for a reasonable accommodation -- and it should be provided -- as long as the tenant has a disability (i.e. an individual with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities) and the accommodation request has a "nexus" to the tenant's disability and will allow them to more fully enjoy a major life activity.

However, somewhere along the line tenants seem to have forgotten about the word "reasonable" in "reasonable accommodations."

It is not reasonable in my opinion to need 5 kittens as companion animals (which were recently born to a landlord-approved pet cat) just because the tenant thinks the kittens are cute and does not want to get rid of the litter.

It is not reasonable in my opinion for a tenant to request a pit bull dog as a reasonable accommodation just because the tenant's relative recently lost their home to foreclosure and can't find a place for their pet "pitty" to live.

It is not reasonable to have to allow a miniature horse as a companion animal because the tenant does not want to have a dog instead because dogs do not live as long as horses do, and if the dog should die it would exacerbate the tenant's mental health issues. Whereas the miniature horse will outlive the tenant so her mental health will be unaffected. Who cares what happens to the miniature horse after the tenant passes.

4. That Tenants Who File Bankruptcy Be Required To Disclose To The Bankruptcy Court That They Are Renters and that the Bankruptcy Court Create A More Efficient Process For The Tenant To "Pay and Stay" or Vacate

If a tenant files for bankruptcy something called the "automatic stay" kicks in that prevents any creditors (yes, that includes landlords) from attempting to collect a debt or in the case of landlords - evict a tenant. Now, tenant/debtors are supposed to disclose in their bankruptcy schedules that they file with the court whether or not they have any "executory contracts or unexpired leases." Without fail, tenants and there bankruptcy attorneys always check the box saying that they have no executory contracts or unexpired leases. I have handled at least 30 of these situations for my landlord clients and not once has the tenant advised the court that they were under an unexpired lease.

A landlord is then required to pay a filing fee, file a motion to lift the automatic stay, wait 14 days for the tenant to object, and if so participate in a hearing before the court, to present evidence that the tenant isn't paying their rent and the landlord should be allowed to proceed to evict the tenant. This process can be expensive and time consuming for a landlord whose hands are legally bound from doing anything until the bankruptcy court says he can.

It would be nice if the court or the bankruptcy trustee would confirm whether or not the debtor is a tenant and whether or not they are up to date with rent and if not, determine if the tenant can get caught up so s/he can stay, or advise the tenant/debtor that they must vacate the landlord's property.

To require a landlord jump through all of these hoops in order to remove a non-paying tenant from his rental property is just another financial drain on landlords. A landlord will spend at least one month (if not more) trying to lift the stay in bankruptcy court. Once that is completed, he then needs to serve the tenant with the appropriate notice, and after that time has elapsed, pay more money to file the eviction, and then wait another 2 weeks or so until the initial appearance in eviction court. As you can see, this process can delay things at least 2 months. So I would like to expedite this somehow. Wishful thinking I know . . . but hey, this is my wish list : )

3. That Tenants Stop Using Jury Trial Demands To "Buy" More Time In Evictions

In my 17+ years of law practice I have probably encountered somewhere between 10-15 requests for a jury trial by a tenant that I am evicting. Not one of those cases have ever resulted in an actual jury being selected. Instead the demand is often made just because it will prolong the case. In Milwaukee County when a jury trial demand is made, the case is tabbed to a large claims judge who often has a very busy caseload and is unable to even get the case into court for a Scheduling Conference for 2 months. Oftentimes, a trial isn't scheduled for months after the Scheduling Conference. On the other hand if a jury trial is not made, the small claims judge in Milwaukee County can hear the eviction within a week in most cases.

I have had jury trial demands filed in failure to pay rent cases where the tenant has no legal defense. Tenant didn't pay rent, notice was properly served, tenant didn't pay past due rent within cure period, and an eviction lawsuit was field. Tenant doesn't deny any of it but wants a jury trial. Now my client gets to sit for months with a non-paying tenant before obtaining a judgement of eviction. And no, landlords rarely ever see those rent amounts from the tenant even if they obtain a money judgment against them later because many tenants are not collectible.

I have had jury trial demands filed in cases where the tenant is being evicted for engaging in criminal activity that is scaring (and at times injuring) fellow tenants and neighbors. Yet, with the jury demand having been made, the landlord, along with the law-abiding tenants and neighbors, have to deal with the scofflaw tenant for months, unless they by chance would get arrested.

The law needs to be changed in this regard. While jury trials are an important part of the judicial system this practice that I am seeing more and more of is clearly an abuse of the system. Perhaps requiring that all jury trials must be held within so many days of the initial appearance or in failure to pay rent cases requiring that all past due rent must be paid up and future rent continue to be paid or the tenant loses his/her right to the jury trial. Something needs to happen to stop this frivolous practice.

2. That All Courts Follow the Law with Regard To Granting "Stays" in Eviction Actions

Sec. 799.44(3), Wis. Stats., is very clear that before a court is allowed to "stay" a writ that the tenant must pay all rent and other charges due as well as any rent that will become due during the period of the "stay." This law is often ignored by the courts to landlords' detriment.

I understand that it is difficult to tell a tenant that you are ordering them to immediately vacate the rental property even when the cause of their non-payment of rent is due to no fault of their own - such as losing a job due to downsizing or health issues -- but that is what the law says. If it is a bad law (and I am not saying that it is) then it can and should be changed through the legislative process.

Let me put this in another context. A tenant that has lost their job or that has encountered a serious medical issue may also not have money to buy food for their family, but that doesn't mean that they are allowed to shoplift food from the grocery store. If they did that they would be arrested.

So why is a landlord required to provide housing for a tenant who's tenancy has been properly terminated and after all proper legal channels have been followed? What makes a landlord so special that s/he gets this special treatment that places them in a different category than any other creditor. Why is a landlord required to house the non-paying tenant to the landlord's financial detriment and risk their ability to continue to provide housing for their paying tenants. Again, for those non-landlords that may be reading this post, most tenants are not collectible, so saying that the landlord will be made whole when they obtain a money judgment against the tenant is not realistic.

1. That All Landlords Join a Landlord Association (such as the Apartment Association of Southeastern Wisconsin - AASEW)

There are more private landlords in Wisconsin than there are teachers but landlords' voices are not anywhere near as powerful as are teachers. The reason for this is that landlords are not organized. Landlords tend to be an independent type that enjoy being their own bosses. That is well and good but landlords need to set that independent spirit aside on occasion for the betterment of themselves and all landlords. Only when landlords unit can positive change occur for them as there is strength in numbers. It is very difficult to survive financially as a landlord these days. But by joining a landlord association, a landlord's life can become a little easier. First, through landlord associations, landlords can create a united voice to challenge bad legislation or champion new legislation. Secondly, landlord associations provide educational opportunities for their members on changes in the law so landlords can stay out of legal trouble. Third, there is camaraderie in joining a landlord association which allows members to rub elbows with other landlords may be facing, or have previously faced, the same struggles that you are having.

If all landlords joined a landlord association and became active in them, we have the money and the numbers to create change that would assist our industry.

____

Oh by the way Santa - if you cant give me any of my wishes on this list, I will settle for a new toy bike with red and white streamers dangling from the handlebars : )

Happy Holidays everyone!

Article on Landlord-Tenant Law Topped the List of WisBar InsideTrack's Most Read Articles of 2012

Milwaukee lawyer Tristan Pettit's article on landlord-tenant law topped the list of most-read articles from WisBar InsideTrack in 2012.

In the past year, WisBar InsideTrack received a number of timely and relevant article submissions from lawyers discussing legislative actions and judicial decisions, substantive legal issues, practice management, ethics, human interest and other developments.

On April 4, 2012, Attorney Tristan Pettit of Petrie & Stocking S.C. wrote an article entitled "Landlord-Tenant Law: Rights, Remedies, and Changes Under New Act 143" which discussed many of the changes in the new landlord-tenant law that took effect on March 31, 2012, including the disposal of abandoned property, severability of rental agreement provisions, acceptance of past due rent and much more.

Here is a link to the Dec. 19th issue of WisBar InsideTrack announcing its top 10 articles.

Here is a link to Tristan's article.

Don't Miss the AASEW's Holiday Party on Monday December 10th.

It’s that time of year again, Ring in the Holidays with the Apartment Association of Southeastern Wisconsin's Annual Holiday Party!!!!

Monday, December 10th. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Dinner at 6:30 p.m.

The Clarion Hotel 5311 S. Howell Avenue, Milwaukee

$30.00 per person, includes appetizers, dinner, coffee and dessert and door prizes prizes! Cash bar.

To register, mail your check prior to December 6th to AASEW, PO BOX 4125, Milwaukee, WI 53204. If you prefer, you may pay by credit card by calling us at 414-276-7378.

Happy Holidays!

The Staff & Board of the Apartment Association.

Hope to see you there

T

Milwaukee's Amended Smoke Alarm Ordinance To Take Effect June 1, 2013.

On November 8, 2012, Milwaukee's Common Council passed a revised smoke alarm ordinance by a vote of 13 to 2.

Effective June 1, 2013, all battery-operated smoke alarm must be powered by 10-year or more non-removable (sealed) batteries. Compliance with this requirement must be met when replacing any current battery operated smoke alarm after June 1st next year or by October 1, 2017 -- whichever is sooner. The AASEW was successful in getting the effective date of the revised ordinance delayed so as to allow landlords some additional time to use up their current supply of non-sealed smoke alarms.

The remainder of the ordinance which requires a "hush button" be present on the smoke alarm if it is located within 20 feet of the kitchen and the requirement of annual testing and recording of when the testing occurred and by whom, remained unchanged.

Milwaukee Co. Eviction Court Closure Dates Through End of Year

Milwaukee County just advised many of us that Eviction Court (room 400 only) will be closed the following days:

- Friday, November 2, 2012

- Friday, November 23, 2012

- Friday, December 14, 2012

- Monday, December 24, 2012

- Monday, December 31, 2012

Note: These closures do NOT apply to Judge Kuhnmuench's courtroom in room 409.

The Effects of "Obamacare" On The Small Landlord

There are so many questions regarding how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, more commonly referred to as "Obamacare," will effect small businesses such as us in the rental housing industry. What is the truth?

AASEW Attorney Heiner Giese, a fellow landlord, has researched the law in depth and will be one of the speakers at the AASEW's upcoming monthly membership meeting on Monday, October 15th, where this issue will be discussed. To present an opposing view, former Democratic legislator and current lobbyist, Gary Goyke, will also be on hand.

This is a huge piece of legislation with equally large potential impact on all of us.

Attendance is free to current members of the AASEW and $25 per person for non-members. Your AASEW General Membership includes admission for all members of a single household. An AASEW Business Membership includes admission for all owners and employees of a single business.

Please join us this Monday.

WHEN: Monday, October 15, 2012 at 7 PM

WHERE: Best Western Midway, 1005 S. Moorland Road, Brookfield (just south of I-94)

COST: Free to AASEW members. $25 per person for non-members.

New Milwaukee Smoke Alarm Ordinance To Require Sealed Lithium Battery Units In Residential Rental Housing

The City of Milwaukee has introduced a change to the residential smoke alarm ordinance. If passed, the revised ordinance will require the use of sealed smoke alarm units with 10 year lithium batteries in all city residential rental housing. The proposed ordinance would require landlords to install the sealed unit when replacing a current removable-battery unit or by October 1, 2022, whichever occurs sooner.

In is unknown what the impetus behind the revised ordinance was but most likely it was the fact that tenants still continue to remove the battery from their smoke detectors to use for other things . . . like their kids toys. While the “hush button” requirement a few years ago partially alleviated tenants removing the battery when cooking, it still did not prevent tenants from removing the battery to power little Junior’s Talking Elmo.

The cost of the sealed unit will run approximately $13 more per unit than current smoke alarms. Those landlords in an effort to reduce costs who decided to buy smoke alarms in bulk now find themselves facing a huge loss as they will have difficulty using up their stockpile before the new ordinance requires replacement with the new sealed units.

The current ordinance states:

214-23. Battery-Operated Smoke Alarms.

Every battery-operated smoke alarm shall be

tested by the owner not less than once every

calendar year. The owner shall provide a copy of

test results to the commissioner or the

commissioner=s designee upon request. Test

results shall include the date on which testing was

performed and the name, telephone number and

property relationship of the person who performed

the test. Testing shall be performed in accordance

with the manufacturer=s specifications for testing.

By September 21, 2005, every owner shall take

the actions necessary to ensure that any smoke

alarm located within 20 feet of the primary cooking

appliance within the unit has a silencing switch

(hush button).

The proposed revised ordinance is below:

Part 1. Section 214-23 of the code is repealed and recreated to read:

214-23. Battery-Operated Smoke Alarms. 1. TYPE. Every battery-operated smoke alarm shall be powered by 10-year or more non-removable batteries. Compliance with this requirement shall be met when replacing an existing battery-operated unit according to the manufacturer's recommended replacement date or by October 1, 2022, whichever is sooner.

2. SILENCING SWITCH. Any smoke alarm located within 20 feet of the primary cooking appliance within the unit shall have a silencing switch.

3. TESTING. Every battery-operated smoke alarm shall be tested by the owner not less than once every calendar year. The owner shall provide a copy of test results to the commissioner or the commissioner's designee upon request. Test results shall include the date on which testing was performed and the name, telephone number and property relationship of the person who performed the test. Testing shall be performed in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications for testing.

Part 2. Section 214-27-3 of the code is amended to read:

214-27. Smoke Detectors and Smoke Alarms for Residential Dwellings Built Prior to January 1, 1983. 3. TYPE. Smoke detectors and alarms required under this section shall be single station devices, either battery operated >>as provided in s. 214-23<<, plug-in or directed wired A/C units unless otherwise required by the code.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

UPDATE 10/9/12 --- The hearing was held earlier today and it was referred to ZND committee for a hearing in November sometime. The ordinance was amended to require that the sealed lithium battery units go into effect in 2017 (5 years) rather than 2022 (10 years). A request was made by AASEW counsel Heiner Giese to delay the effective date of the ordinance to June 1, 2013 so that landlords could use up their current supply of non-sealed battery units - one alderman supported this request. Several alderman expressed concern that this proposed modification to the current ordinance would be expensive for homeowners who do not have to deal with tenants that remove the batteries from smoke alarm units

- Thank you to Heiner for the updated information.