REALTORS Claim “Big Victory” In Stripping Tenants of their Rights

Yesterday, Governor Walker Signed SB107 into law, it will likely be published by the Secretary of State and go into effect on December 18th – details below. You can watch here to see the REALTORS claim victory and ask for contributions to continue their work. The one thing I do like about the video is that it combats a common perception from many landlords, that all the local laws are gone. That is not the case, there are clearly just four areas.

Here’s the rights that have been taken away here in Dane County and Madison.
In the application process:
– Minimum Income Requirements: previously, landlords in Madison couldn’t deny tenants if tenants could prove that they had paid a similar amount of rent in the past. Now, landlords don’t have to take that into consideration.
– Landlords can now use tenants’ occupation in considering whether to accept or deny them. However, other protections may still apply, since Fair Housing Law prevents a landlord from looking at tenants’ source of income in an application.
– Landlords can now use court records, including arrest and conviction records, in considering whether to accept or deny tenants. Previously, landlords could only look at these records when they were clearly related to housing issues,
and only for the past 2 years. Now, landlords can deny a tenant whether or not the arrest was proven in court, related to housing, or recent.
– Landlords can now require disclosure of tenants’ social security number in the application process. Previously, landlords couldn’t require this disclosure.

For Security Deposits:
– Landlords can ask tenants to pay any amount as a security deposit. Previously, landlords could only ask for 1 months’ rent (or less) as a security deposit.
– Previously, landlords had to give tenants check-in forms, check-out forms and take photos in order to take any damages at all out of the security deposit. These are no longer required in order to automatically deduct for damages from the security deposit, though the deductions can still be disputed.
– Before this law, tenants could sue landlords for triple the amount wrongfully withheld from security deposits. This protection is now eliminated, and tenants can only sue for double the amount wrongfully withheld.
– Landlords are no longer required to pay interest on security deposits.

During the lease period:
– Landlords can now show the rental unit and begin a new lease at any point in the lease term. Previously in Madison, landlords had to wait until a lease was 25% completed before they could show or re-lease the rental unit.
– Landlords now must only give 12 hours notice to show the rental unit. Previously, the landlord had to give 24 hours notice. And they still have to give 24 hours notice to enter for repairs or to inspect.

Keep in mind: if a landlord wishes to apply these new laws, they must do it to all their tenants. These laws can’t be used in a retaliatory or discriminatory way. That’s still illegal.

Also, these are general rules, we are in the process of sorting things out and if you have any questions, you should call and talk to someone, or email or stop by the Tenant Resource Center.
Tenant Resource Center Main Office- (608) 257-0006
Tenant Resource Center Campus Office – (608) 561-3727

It’s important to know that tenants still have many extra rights in Madison and Dane County. And many rights come from state laws and those have not changed. Only the random list of items the REALTORS and Apartment Association did not like were effected. Oddly enough, some protections like landlords having to accept qualified tenants when they have section 8 vouchers are still in place – which was one of the things they were so angry about in the past. So, like I said, its a weird random list. Keep informed, call us if you need to!