Tristan’s Landlord-Tenant Law Blog
HUD Issues New Guidelines On The Use of Criminal Records In The Rental Screening Process
On April 4, 2016 the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) dropped a bombshell on owners and managers of residential rental properties in the U.S.HUD's Office of General Counsel published a 10 page guide entitled "Guidance on Application of Fair Housing Act Standards to the Use of Criminal Records by Providers of Housing and Real-Estate Related Transactions." This guide essentially changes the rules as we ...
New & Revised Landlord-Tenant Forms Available at Wisconsin Legal Blank
As a result of 2015 Act 176 becoming law earlier this month it became necessary to draft and/or revise some of the landlord-tenant forms sold at Wisconsin Legal Blank Co., Inc.As of March 24th the following revised or new forms will be available at WLB:5 Day Notice To Vacate for Criminal Activity or Drug-Related Criminal ActivityThis new notice may be served on a tenant, under any tenancy, if ...
ACT 176: Governor Signs New Landlord-Tenant Bill Into Law
On Monday, February 29, 2016 Governor Scott Walker signed a new landlord-tenant law bill into law. The new law entitled 2015 Wisconsin Act 176 ("Act 176") was published on March 1, 2016 and went into effect the following day - Mach 2, 2016 - which means I am late in drafting this blog post since the new law is almost 1 week old already.The passage of Act ...
Landlord Boot Camp Is Just Around The Corner - February 20, 2016
The AASEW's (Early) Spring Landlord Boot Camp is just around the corner. Can you believe that this will be our 13th Boot Camp seminar? 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. In fact as we speak a new landlord-tenant bill is being debated in Madison.The Apartment Association of Southeastern ...
The Nuts and Bolts of Emergency Assistance Stays
I recently had a client call me and advise that they received an Emergency Assistance letter and other documents from UMOS (one of the agencies that administer E.A. funds) for a client that they were in the process of evicting. Unfortunately, I had to advise the client that merely by the tenant having applied for Emergency Assistance, the eviction action would have to be "stayed" (i.e. delayed) per Wisconsin ...
If You Allow Your Tenant To Keep A Pet Then You Should Be Using a Written Pet Agreement
In talking with my clients and potential clients over the past year, I have also noticed that more and more landlords are allowing tenants to keep pets. I am not sure if this is because of the many pet owners that were also homeowners that have since lost their homes to foreclosure and have been forced to become renters or if it is because landlords are trying to be more ...
Don't Miss the Free Annual AASEW Landlord Trade Show and Education Event on October 8th.
Yes, folks it is time once again for the Free Annual AASEW Landlord Trade Show and Education Event. If you own rental housing, or wish to become an investor, this is the event for you. October 8th 11 AM – 4:30 PM Potawatomi Bingo Casino Expo Center, 1721 W Canal St, Milwaukee, WI 53233 Lots of educational seminars, lots of food, lots of networking, lots of opportunities to ...
GUEST POST: The Benefits of Tenant Screening
This is a blog post drafted by the American Apartment Owners AssociationAlthough taking time to screen rental applicants thoroughly may not seem necessary, failing to do so may cost you considerable time and money later. If you just accept money from an applicant ready to put down the deposit today, it could backfire on you. If you simply approve a tenant after verifying his or her employment because you are ...
SEMINAR: AASEW'S Fall Landlord Boot Camp Will Be Held on October 17th
The AASEW's Fall Landlord Boot Camp is just around the corner. Can you believe that this will be our 12th Boot Camp seminar? 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 12th “Landlord Boot Camp" can help you navigate these treacherous waters and learn how to ...
UPCOMING SEMINAR: Legal Issues Pertaining to Bedbugs & How Landlords Can Protect Themselves
Hello Everyone --- I hope that you are all enjoying your summer. I wanted to let you know about a free seminar that I will be giving on the Legal Issues Pertaining To Bedbugs and What Landlords Can Do To Protect Themselves on Wednesday, July 22, 2015.I will be presenting this 1-1.5 hour presentation as part of Batzner Pest Control's 5th Annual Bed Bug Seminar. Here are the details:- ...
Can A Landlord Deny A Reasonable Accommodation Request For A Pit Bull Companion Animal?
As I have mentioned in a prior blog post I have seen a significant increase in tenant requests for a reasonable accommodation to a landlord's "no pet" policy so that the tenant can keep a comfort/companion animal. As a result of this increase, I am also seeing an increase in reasonable accommodation requests to keep what are often referred to as "dangerous breeds" of dogs -- such as Pit ...
Milwaukee County Issues New Local Rule Regarding Stipulated Dismissals In Eviction Lawsuits
On May 1, 2015, the Chief Judge of Milwaukee County, Judge Jeffrey Kremers, issued new local rule 3.85 concerning Stipulations to Dismiss the first cause of action (possession of the property) in eviction cases.Readers should review local rule 3.85 itself but I have summarized the pertinent points below.1. A landlord and tenant may agree to dismiss the first cause of action (return of premises) in exchange for the ...
Guest Post: AASEW Continues Moving Forward
Below is this month's President's Column from the Apartment Association newsletter. While Joe Dahl states his reason for stepping down modestly as “to pursue other opportunities" the truth is Joe was accepted into the Princeton PhD program where he plans to expand on what he learned as an urban landlord to study housing related issues. It will be refreshing to see this type of study being done without the typical ...
The 10 Deadly Sins: 10 Provisions That Landlords Cannot Include in Their Wisconsin Residential Rental Agreements
With the passage of Act 143 (2012) and Act 76 (2014) the legislature has created several new provisions that a Residential Landlord cannot include in his Rental Agreement. There are currently 10 items, which I affectionately refer to as the "10 Deadly Sins" that if they are included in your Wisconsin residential rental agreement will render the agreement void and unenforceable.In my representation of landlords over the past 20 ...
AASEW's 11th Landlord Boot Camp will be held on February 21, 2015
I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday season. Now that the holidays are behind us it is time to get back to work : ) Toward that end, the AASEW has announced the details of its 11th Landlord Boot Camp.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
GUEST POST: An Important Eviction Case Heard By Wisconsin Supreme Court
An important eviction case heard by the WI Supreme CourtAttorney Heiner Giese on behalf of the Apartment Association filed an Amicus brief with the WI Supreme Court supporting the City of Milwaukee Housing Authority in their case against Cobbs. This case was heard by the Supreme Court yesterday.Basically the case revolves around the federal “one strike and you're out" rule for Section 8 housing and the state of ...
Screening Prospective Tenants Is a Must --- That Includes Commercial Tenants
Those of you that have attended my seminars or read prior blog posts of mine are well aware that in my opinion screening prospective tenants is the single most important part of landlording.These sentiments apply to commercial tenants as well as residential tenants. Just because your tenant is a corporation, LLC or some other business entity does not make make them legitimate.A corporate tenant can also fail to pay ...
City of Milwaukee Looking to Expand Its Residential Rental Inspection Program (a.k.a Landlord Licensing)
The Department of Neighborhood Services (DNS) of the city of Milwaukee is looking to expand its Residential Rental Inspection (RRI) program to additional parts of Milwaukee. Simply put the RRI program is "landlord licensing" at its heart and it may very well be coming to your neighborhood.As background, the RRI program was created in December of 2009 as a so-called "pilot" program. It allowed the city to enter ...
Landlord Boot Camp Is Just Around The Corner - October 4, 2014.
The AASEW's ever popular Landlord Boot Camp is just around the corner. It will be held on Saturday, October 4, 2014 from 8:30 am - 5:30 pm at the Clarion Hotel located near the airport.At this Fall's Boot Camp I will be updating everyone on how the courts have been handling and interpreting all of the law changes since Act 76 was passed back in March of this year.I ...
Landlords Lose Lawsuit Against City of LaCrosse
On August 27, 2014, a LaCrosse County judge ruled against several LaCrosse landlords that had sued the city over its local rental registry and inspection ordinance.The plaintiffs included 34 landlords with rental property in the city of LaCrosse and attacked the cities ordinance on both constitutional grounds as well as arguing that the ordinance violated state law, specifically Act 76, which became law on March 1, 2014. To learn ...