Looks like the are planning to rush this (New Attack on Tenants’ Rights) through . . .
SHORT DEADLINE!
To: All Legislators
From: Representative Stroebel and Senator Lasee
Date: April 29, 2013
Re: Co-Sponsorship, LRB 1931/2: Relating to miscellaneous provisions related to rental and vehicle towing practices, prohibitions on enacting ordinances that place certain limitations or requirements on landlords
SHORT DEADLINE: Tuesday, April 30th, at 3pm
We are introducing LRB 1931 to update, clean up, and standardize Wisconsin law affecting landlord/tenant relationships in the State of Wisconsin. This bill builds off of 2011 Act 143 and also proposes needed new policies.
By standardizing landlord/tenant law statewide, it provides consistency for tenants and makes it easier to ensure consumer protections are provided. Common sense reforms will reduce the regulatory burden on landlords and lower housing costs.
Current law presents questions, and often time, uncertainties regarding the landlord/tenant relationship. This bill helps to clarify some of these questions, while also making improvements to current law. The bill standardizes landlord/tenant law in the state, some sections of which vary greatly in municipalities. This bill also clarifies and enhances the rights and responsibilities of both the tenant and landlord in aspects related to personal property, rental agreements and civil procedure.
If you would like to co-sponsor this bill, please respond to this email or call either Rep. Stroebel’s office at 7-2369 or Sen. Lasee’s office at 6-3512 by Tuesday, April 30th at 3:00 PM.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Provisions relating to landlords and tenants
This bill makes a number of miscellaneous changes to the statutes related to landlords and tenants, including the following:
1. Under current law, if a tenant removes from the rental premises and leaves personal property behind, in the absence of written agreement to the contrary, there is a presumption that the tenant has abandoned the personal property, and the landlord may dispose of it in any way that the landlord determines is appropriate, with the exception of prescription drugs, which the landlord must hold for seven days before disposal. If the landlord does not intend to store the property, the landlord must provide written notice of that fact to the tenant when the tenant enters into or renews a rental agreement. Also under current law, if a tenant is evicted from the premises and a writ of restitution is delivered to the sheriff, the sheriff executes the writ by removing the defendant, who is the tenant, and the defendant’s personal property. However, in counties other than Milwaukee County, the plaintiff, who is the landlord, may notify the sheriff that the plaintiff or his or her agent will remove and store the property. Current law provides specific requirements for storage of the property and notice to the defendant, regardless of whether the sheriff or the plaintiff removes the personal property.
Under this bill, if a tenant is evicted from the rental premises, the sheriff executes a writ of restitution in the same manner as under current law. If the sheriff removes the personal property, the requirements under current law as to storage and notice to the defendant apply. The bill provides that a plaintiff in any county may notify the sheriff that the plaintiff or his or her agent will remove the personal property, in which case the provisions under current law that apply to personal property that is left behind if the tenant removes from the premises apply. There is a presumption that the defendant has abandoned the property and, in the absence of a written agreement to the contrary, the plaintiff may remove and dispose of the property in any manner that the plaintiff determines is appropriate, except for prescription drugs, which must be held for seven days before disposal. The bill provides that, if the landlord does not intend to store any property left behind, either if the tenant removes from the premises or is evicted, the landlord must provide written notice to the tenant when the tenant enters into or renews a rental agreement or at any other time before the tenant removes from or is evicted from the premises. If the landlord has not done that, the landlord may not dispose of the property in any manner that the landlord determines is appropriate, but must follow the notice, storage, and sale requirements that applied under former law when a tenant removed from the premises and left personal property behind.
2. Under current law, if an employee or a prospective employer of an employee requests an employer to provide a reference about the employee’s job performance or qualifications, the employer is exempt from civil liability for providing the reference. The bill provides a landlord with an exemption from civil liability for providing a reference about the rental performance of an applicant for tenancy if the applicant or a prospective landlord of the applicant requests the landlord to provide the reference. As under current law for employers, there is a presumption that the landlord is acting in good faith. The presumption may be overcome only by clear and convincing evidence that the landlord knowingly provided false information in the reference or made the reference maliciously.
3. Current law provides that, if a tenant damages the premises through negligence or improper use of the premises, the tenant must repair the damage. However, the landlord may elect to do the repair, in which case the tenant must reimburse the landlord. The bill specifically provides that an infestation of insects or other pests may constitute damage to the premises and that, if the premises are damaged by the acts or inaction of the tenant, the landlord may elect to allow the tenant to remediate or repair the damage or may elect to remediate or repair the damage himself or herself, in which case the tenant must reimburse the landlord.
4. Under current law, a landlord must disclose to a prospective tenant any building or housing code violation to which certain specified criteria apply, including that the landlord has actual knowledge of the violation. The bill changes that criterion from the landlord having actual knowledge to the landlord having received written notice of the violation from a local housing code enforcement agency.
5. Under current law, a city, village, town, or county (municipality) is prohibited from enacting or enforcing certain ordinances relating to landlords and tenants, such as an ordinance imposing a moratorium on eviction actions or an ordinance that places certain limitations on what information a landlord may obtain and use concerning a prospective tenant. The bill additionally prohibits a municipality from enacting or enforcing an ordinance that limits a tenant’s responsibility, or a landlord’s right to recover, for any damage to, or neglect of, the premises; that requires a landlord to communicate to tenants any information that is not required to be communicated to tenants under federal or state law; or that requires a landlord to communicate to the municipality any information concerning the landlord unless the information is required under federal or state law or is required of all residential real property owners.
6. Current law specifies what costs may be withheld from a security deposit and the timing for the return of a security deposit after a tenant removes from the premises. The bill limits these provisions to residential tenancies. In addition, the bill provides that if a tenant is evicted from the premises, his or her security deposit must be returned within 21 days after either the date on which the tenant’s rental agreement terminates or the date on which a new tenant’s tenancy begins if the landlord rerents the premises before the tenant’s rental agreement terminates. Under current law, an evicted tenant’s security deposit must be returned within 21 days after the earlier of the date on which a writ of restitution is executed or the date on which the landlord learns that the tenant has vacated the premises.
7. Current law provides that a residential rental agreement is void and unenforceable if it contains a provision that does any of a number of certain specified things, including allowing the landlord to terminate the tenancy of a tenant if a crime is committed in or on the rental property, even if the tenant could not have prevented the crime. The bill removes that item from the list of provisions that, if contained in a residential rental agreement, make it void and unenforceable.
8. Current law provides that any violation of the chapter of the statutes that contains the landlord−tenant provisions may constitute unfair methods of competition or unfair trade practices under the provisions of the statutes under which the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection regulates marketing and trade practices. The bill limits the landlord−tenant provisions that, if violated, may constitute unfair methods of competition or unfair trade practices to the provisions relating to withholding from and returning security deposits and the provisions that, if contained in a residential rental agreement, make it void and unenforceable.
9. Current law provides that a person who is entitled to possession of real property may commence an eviction action. The bill adds that an agent of such a person, authorized in writing, may also commence the eviction action. Under current law, a person who commences an eviction action may appear in his, her, or its own proper person or by an attorney. A person is considered to be appearing in its own proper person if it appears by a full−time authorized employee. The bill adds that a person may appear in its own proper person by a member, or an agent of a member or authorized employee, of the person. Current law provides that an eviction action based on failure to pay rent may not be dismissed solely because the landlord accepts past due rent from the tenant after the termination of the tenant’s tenancy. The bill provides that an eviction action based on failure to pay rent or for any other reason may not be dismissed because the landlord accepts past due rent or any other payment from the tenant after serving notice of default or commencing the eviction action.
10. Under current law, a landlord must provide to a tenant when the tenant commences his or her occupancy of the premises a standardized information check−in sheet that contains an itemized description of the condition of the premises. The bill changes this requirement so that the landlord must provide to the tenant a check−in sheet that the tenant may use to make comments about the condition of the premises.
Towing vehicles illegally parked on private property
Current law prohibits the removal (towing) of a vehicle involved in trespass parking on a private parking lot or facility without the permission of the vehicle owner, unless a parking citation is issued by a traffic officer or a repossession judgment is issued.
Under this bill, if a vehicle is parked without authorization on private property, the vehicle may be towed immediately, at the vehicle owner’s expense and without the owner’s permission, as follows: 1) from private property that is properly posted, whether or not a parking citation is issued; or 2) from private property that is not properly posted, only if a parking citation is issued or a repossession judgment is issued. “Properly posted” means there is clearly visible notice that an area is private property and that vehicles that are not authorized to park in this area may be immediately towed. A vehicle may be towed under the bill only by a towing service at the request of the property owner or property owner’s agent or of a traffic officer or parking enforcer. The vehicle owner must pay the reasonable charges for towing and, if applicable, storage of the vehicle and the towing service may impound the vehicle until these charges are paid. If these charges are not paid within 30 days or arrangements for installment payments are not made, the vehicle is considered abandoned and may be disposed of as are other abandoned vehicles. The Department of Transportation must promulgate rules establishing reasonable charges for towing and storage of vehicles under the provisions of the bill.
Eviction actions
The bill also makes changes to certain court procedures for eviction actions. Under current law, a civil action is generally commenced when the plaintiff in the action serves the defendant with a copy of the summons and complaint (summons) against him or her.
Generally, personal service of the summons must be made on the defendant or on another person who lives at the defendant’s place of residence (substituted service), although current law allows a court, by rule, to authorize the service of the summons in mail in actions that are not eviction actions. Under current law, a defendant in an eviction action must appear in court not less than five days nor more than 30 days after the summons is issued. The court generally sets the matter for a hearing when the defendant makes this initial appearance.
If the plaintiff prevails in an eviction action and the court determines that the defendant must leave the rented premises, the current law requires the court to order that a writ of restitution be issued to the sheriff in the county where the property is located. The writ of restitution requires the sheriff’s department to remove the defendant and his or her personal property from the premises. The bill allows a court, by rule, to authorize that the summons in an eviction may be served by mail. The bill also shortens the time during which a defendant in an eviction must appear from 30 days to 20 days and requires the court to set the matter for a hearing within 20 days of the date of the initial appearance. The bill requires a writ of restitution to be issued within five days after the court enters judgment in the eviction action.
