Tristan’s Landlord-Tenant Law Blog
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Tristan’s Landlord-Tenant Law Blog
Archive of: Rental Documents
Updated Nonstandard Rental Provisions form Now Available at Wisconsin Legal Blank
Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Rental Documents, Nonstandard Rental Provisions / Comments
Hi Everyone - I hope that you are all well on this rainy Friday afternoon. I just wanted to alert those of you that use the Landlord-Tenant forms that I draft for Wisconsin Legal Blank, that I recently re-wrote the Nonstandard Rental Provisions (NSRP) form for clarity and legal conformity. I recommend that you update your NSRP form accordingly to better protect yourself and your ...
Read MoreBeware of Clauses Requiring More than 28-Days’ Notice to Terminate Month-to-Month Tenancies
Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Rental Documents, State of Wisconsin / Comments
By Atty. Gary D. Koch Clauses requiring tenants to provide 60-Day Notice to terminate a month-to-month tenancy are popular – we see them a lot in rental agreements. Recently, though, we have seen the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection take issue with such clauses in rental agreements in month-to-month tenancies that require the tenant to give anything more than a 28-Day Notice to terminate the tenancy. These DATCP challenges ...
Read MoreUpdated Nonstandard Rental Provision Form Available Now at Wisconsin Legal Blank
Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Rental Documents / Comments
A new and updated version of the Nonstandard Rental Provisions (NSRP) form that I draft is available for purchase at Wisconsin Legal Blank. The need for the revisions were due to conversations that I had with the State (namely the Attorney General's Office) while defending a client of mine during a Civil Investigative Demand (CID). During our conversations, the AG's office informed me that it was their opinion that a NSRP ...
Read MoreHow Long Should A Landlord Save A Tenant's Lease and Other Rental Documents?
Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Rental Agreements, Rental Documents, Statute of Limitations / Comments
A while ago I wrote a post in which I recommended that landlords retain a denied rental applicant's application and related paperwork for at least 2 years from the date of denial. This post will focus on the situation where the landlord has accepted the applicant, the applicant was your tenant, and now their tenancy has ended for whatever reason. Under this scenario, how long should a landlord hold on ...
Read MoreWhat Is The Difference Between a Rental Agreement, a Lease, and a Month to Month Tenancy
Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Rental Agreements, Rental Documents / Comments
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). ...
Read MoreMore New and Revised Landlord Forms Available at Wisconsin Legal Blank
Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Rental Documents, Wisconsin Legal Blank / Comments
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 ...
Read MoreNew & Revised Landlord-Tenant Forms Available at Wisconsin Legal Blank
Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Notices, Rental Agreements, Rental Documents, Wisconsin Legal Blank / Comments
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 ...
Read MoreIf You Allow Your Tenant To Keep A Pet Then You Should Be Using a Written Pet Agreement
Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Rental Documents, Pets / Comments
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 ...
Read MoreThe 10 Deadly Sins: 10 Provisions That Landlords Cannot Include in Their Wisconsin Residential Rental Agreements
Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Rental Agreements, Rental Documents, Act 143 (Landlord's Omnibus Law), Act 76 (SB 179) / Comments
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 ...
Read MoreRevised Wisconsin Legal Blank Forms Will Be Available on Monday, February 17th
Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Legislation, Rental Agreements, Rental Documents, Act 76 (SB 179), Wisconsin Legal Blank / Comments
As I hope most of you are aware, Wisconsin passed a new law that will great affect landlord-tenant law - Act 76. Whenever the law is changed, there is usually a need to revise and/or update your rental documents to comply with the law. That is definitely the case with the changes from Act 76.As such, I have had to update many of the rental documents that are ...
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