Tristan’s Landlord-Tenant Law Blog
Milwaukee County Proposes A New Protected Class in Housing - "Receipt of Rental or Housing Assistance"
Milwaukee County Supervisor Maria Dimitrijevec is sponsoring a resolution to amend the Milwaukee County Code of General Ordinances related to Fair Housing to include a new protected class - the "receipt of rental or housing assistance." The resolution has been referred to the Economic Development Committee and may be scheduled to be discussed at the committee's meeting on March 12, 2018 at 9 AM.If passed, this resolution ...
Don't Miss The Next Landlord Boot Camp on February 24th
Don't hand your keys over to just anyone . . . Join Attorney Tristan Pettit as he presents the AASEW's Landlord Boot Camp on February 24, 2018. Tristan will provide you with the information that you need to succeed ...
New Landlord-Tenant Law Legislation - Wisconsin's Affordable Rental Housing Act of 2017
There are currently two bills in Madison that will significantly impact Landlord-Tenant Law in Wisconsin. 2017 Senate Bill 639 (SB 639) and 2017 Assembly Bill 771 (AB 771) ("bill") are referred to as the Wisconsin's Affordable Rental Housing Act of 2017 and are sponsored by Senator Frank Lasee and Representative Robert Brooks.The 20-page bill address many issues including historic preservation, rental inspections, rental inspection fees, notice of eviction ...
Wondering What To Get That Special Landlord In Your Life For The Holidays?
Are you wondering what to get that special landlord in your life for the holidays? Look no further. How about giving him or her some peace of mind and lots of education? Send the landlord in your life to the AASEW's next Landlord Boot Camp on February 24, 2018.Landlording can be pretty complex, with a seemingly never ending myriad of paperwork, rules, landlord-tenant laws and simple ...
Good News For Rental Property Investors - Rental Weatherization Program Is Eliminated
I apologize for the delay in getting this post published but there is good news for rental property investors -- the much maligned rental weatherization program was eliminated as part of the passing of the state budget (2017 Wisconsin Act 59) which was signed into law on September 21, 2017 and the program will sunset as of January 1, 2018.Back in 1979 the legislature passed a law requiring that all ...
Wisconsin's Land Contract Default Remedies
This is a guest post by Atty. David Espin of Petrie + PettitAs bank's lending standards have tightened in recent years, financing for real estate sales has become more difficult to obtain. More buyers and sellers are considering alternative financing options, such as land contracts. If the buyer, otherwise known as the vendee, makes all payments on time and pays off the land contract when due, then all parties seemingly ...
What Is The Difference Between A Service Animal, An Emotional Support Animal, A Comfort Animal, A Companion Animal, and a Therapy Animal?
There is much confusion regarding the difference between the various terms used for assistance animals. Landlords, tenants, tenant's health care providers, lawyers and even the courts are often confused when it comes to this issue. Hopefully this blog post will help.I often use the generic term "assistance animal" to refer to any animal that is prescribed for a tenant to assist him or her in some way. ...
Less Than 1 Month Left Until Landlord Boot Camp on October 7, 2017
Hello Everyone – There is less than 1 month left until the next Landlord Boot Camp which is scheduled for October 7, 2017. I hope to see many of you there. One new topic that we will be addressing is e-filing your evictions and collection lawsuits. E-filing has been required for most Wisconsin counties for several months now and it is now required in Milwaukee County as well ...
Landlords Should Create and Implement A Reasonable Accommodation Request Process
With more and more tenants making reasonable accommodation requests to keep assistance animals in their apartments, it is important for landlords to create a policy and process to handle such requests when they arise. As background, a reasonable accommodation request is a request from a person with a disability to a landlord asking that the landlord modify his/her policies, practices or procedures to accommodate the disabled person so that s/he ...
Milwaukee County Board Considering Ordinance on Rent Abatment
An important message for the Apartment Association of Southeastern Wisconsin: The Milwaukee County Board is considering a proposal that would permit your tenants to abate rent for maintenance issues not addressed within 24 hours.For example, your tenant calls on Friday morning to say the bathroom faucet is not working correctly. You go out and fix it on Sunday, 50 hours after the call came in. This proposal ...
Fall Landlord Boot Camp Announced - October 7, 2017
Hello EveryoneWe have recently selected Saturday, October 7, 2017 for the next Landlord Boot Camp.As you are well aware, 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 Landlord Boot Camp can help you navigate these treacherous waters and learn how to run your properties with ...
CCAP Is Under Attack Once Again
A panel tasked with providing guidance to the Director of State Courts has recommended that certain information on Wisconsin's Circuit Court Access site (often referred to as CCAP) should be removed in certain situations. The recommendations made include:Any felony charges brought against a person which were later dismissed or where the defendant was acquitted of the charges would be removed from CCAP after 1-2 years.Any misdemeanor charges brought against ...
What Is The Difference Between a Rental Agreement, a Lease, and a Month-to-Month Tenancy
A question that I am often asked is what is the difference between a rental agreement, a lease, and a month to month tenancy. I will do my best to explain.The "Real World" AnswerA "Rental Agreement" is the general term that is used to cover all types of rental tenancies. A rental agreement includes a lease and a periodic tenancy (such as a month to month tenancy). ...
GUEST POST: Is Your LLC Protecting Your Personal Assets?
Hello Everyone - Atty. David Espin has recently joined PETRIE + PETTIT. Dave focuses his practice on business law, with an emphasis on business formation, corporate transactions, business bankruptcy, and commercial workouts. Dave advises businesses of all sizes on the legal and practical issues that they face every day.Below is a guest post that he has written which is applicable to landlords, many of which hold their rental properties ...
GUEST POST: Views on "Landlords Games" Series and the City of Milwaukee's Task Force on LLC's
This is a Guest Blog Post authored by Tim BalleringRecently the Milwaukee Journal ran a series “Landlord Games" that inaccurately portrayed LLCs as being used simply to avoiding paying property taxes and fines. The result is the Milwaukee Common Council is creating a committee to study LLCs and rental housing. Text of proposal. The rental industry is again, noticeably absent from those invited to the table.View ...
The Next Landlord Boot Camp Will Be Held on February 18, 2017
Hello Everyone - I have recently announced the next Landlord Boot Camp session. Here are the details. I hope to see many of you there. WHEN: February 18th, 2017 – Saturday 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM Registration opens at 7:00 AMWHERE: Clarion Hotel 5311 S. Howell Avenue, MilwaukeeINCLUDED: 100 plus page manual to help you put what you learn into practice.What you will learn at the Apartment Association's ...
Portland Landlord Sentenced to Jail For Apartment Fire That Resulted In The Death of Six Tenants
There has been a lot of news reports lately about fires in rental buildings. Recently there was the Oakland, California "Ghost Ship" fire that killed 36 people. Just a few days before that fire, a landlord was sentenced to serve time in jail as a result of one of the deadliest fires in 4 decades in Portland Maine. This was the first jail sentence for a ...
Public Housing Advocates Take Issue with HUD's Memo Regarding the Use of Criminal Backgrounds In The Tenenat Screening Process
The Public Housing Authorities Directors Association (PHADA), a public housing advocacy group comprised of chief executives of public housing authorities, has published a very detailed and well reasoned letter attacking HUD's recent memo regarding landlords use of rental applicants criminal background in the tenant screening process.If you are would like to learn more about HUD's April 4, 2016 memo drafted by its Office of General Counsel (OGC) you should ...
More New and Revised Landlord Forms Available at Wisconsin Legal Blank
I have recently completed drafting some new landlord forms which are now available at Wisconsin Legal Blank, including:1. Smoking Policy Addendum (Form 982) - This form may be used when a landlord wants to prohibit smoking on the rental premises or only allow smoking in specific location/s of the rental premises. This form also sets forth the terms, conditions and rules related to any smoking prohibition or restriction ...
AASEW's Fall Landlord Boot Camp Announced - October 29, 2016
The AASEW's Fall Landlord Boot Camp has recently been announced. This will be the 14th Boot Camp.This Boot Camp will be a very important one as I will be covering two new topics that are very important.1. We will discuss the new Landlord Tenant Law (Act 176) and its effects including the "crime-free" provisions, and2. We will discuss HUD's new directive regarding the use of an applicant's criminal history in ...