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Tristan’s Landlord-Tenant Law Blog

Archive of: Rejecting Rental Applicants

How Long Should You Retain A Denied Rental Application?

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Rejecting Rental Applicants, Statute of Limitations, Rental Applications / Comments

I am often asked by landlords and rental property managers how long they should hold on to the rental applications of applicants that were denied.   The answer to that question depends on something called the "statute of limitations."  A statute of limitation is a law which sets the maximum period of time in which a person can wait before filing a claim/complaint or lawsuit against another person. The statute of limitations for a ...

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Screening Prospective Tenants Is a Must --- That Includes Commercial Tenants

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Screening Tenants, Bankruptcy, Rejecting Rental Applicants, Commercial L-T Law / Comments

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 ...

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Top 10 Pitfalls That Landlords Should Avoid

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in AASEW, Notices, Screening Tenants, Rental Agreements, Rental Documents, CCAP, Seminars, Property Management, Rejecting Rental Applicants / Comments

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 ...

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You Will Not Want To Miss AASEW's Fourth Annual Landlord Boot Camp on Saturday Feb. 25th

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Tenant Damage, Credit Checks, AASEW, Lead-Based Paint, Fair Housing / Discrimination, Protected Classes, Evictions, Late Fees, Notices, Collections, Emergency Assistance, City of Milwaukee, Screening Tenants, Rental Agreements, Rental Documents, Seminars, Pets, Security Deposit, Milwaukee County, Property Management, Mitigation of Damages / Re-Renting, Untenantability, Execution of Writ, State of Wisconsin, Self-Help Evictions, Right of Entry, Reasonable Modifications, Reasonable Accommodations, Rejecting Rental Applicants, Walkthroughs, De Novo Hearings, Earnest Money, Landlord Liability, Small Claims Court, Holdover Damages, Roommates, Smoke Detectors / Comments

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 of dollars.The Apartment Association of Southeastern Wisconsin's Fourth Annual “Landlord Boot Camp” can help you navigate these treacherous waters and teach you how to run your properties with greater profit and less hassles.I have given similar landlord-tenant law seminars to fellow attorneys, landlords, and property manager ...

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Rejecting A Rental Applicant: The Do's and Dont's

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Screening Tenants, Fair Credit Reporting Act, Rejecting Rental Applicants / Comments

UPDATE - APRIL 15, 2016 ---- Please review my April 15, 2016 blog post on HUD's new guidance regarding the consideration of a rental applicant's criminal history in the screening process as it may impact or alter the information in this blog post.Let's face it, most landlords would prefer to never have to reject a rental applicant. It would be great if every application that we received from ...

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