Tristan’s Landlord-Tenant Law Blog

Are Wisconsin Residential Leases Worth The Paper They Are Written On?

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Rental Agreements, Mitigation of Damages / Re-Renting / Comments

In my personal opinion the answer is often "no."  The reason being is due to Wisconsin's requirement that a landlord make reasonable efforts to re-rent the unit if a tenant is evicted or decides to vacate early, and if this is not done, the landlord is not entitled to further rent from the breaching tenant.Now don't get me wrong, I am not saying that leases in Wisconsin are worthless and ...

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So Are Illegal Provisions In Wisconsin Residential Rental Agreements Severable Or Not?

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Legislation, Rental Agreements, Rental Documents, Act 143 (Landlord's Omnibus Law) / Comments

  SHORT ANSWER:  Yes . . . and No.LONG ANSWER:   The newly passed law referred to as the Landlord's Omnibus Law (Act 143) adresses this issue but provides contradictory answers.In newly created sec. 704.02 of the Wisconsin Statutes, the law states quite clearly that the provisions of a rental agreement or lease are severable.  Specifically, it states that if any ...

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Newly revised Landlord-Tenant Law Forms Available at Wisconsin Legal Blank on April 2 and April 3, 2012.

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Notices, Rental Agreements, Rental Documents, Act 143 (Landlord's Omnibus Law) / Comments

Wisconsin's Landlord Omnibus Law (Act 143) went into effect today - April 1, 2012.  As a result of the new law it was necessary for me to update many of the landlord-tenant law forms that are sold at Wisconisn Legal Blank. As of Monday, April 2, 2012, the following revised forms will be available:1.   Residential Rental Agreement  (Form #19)-  Added language required in order for landlord to be able ...

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2011 Wisconsin Act 143 (Landlord Omnibus Law) Also Applies To Commercial Landlord-Tenant Law

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in ATCP 134, Legislation, Rental Agreements, Rental Documents, Security Deposit, Property Management, State of Wisconsin, Landlord Liability, Holdover Damages, Attorney's Fees, Act 143 (Landlord's Omnibus Law), Commercial L-T Law / Comments

While this blog primarily focuses on residential landlord-tenant law, on occasion I also touch on issues applicable to commercial landlord-tenant law.  This is one such instance.Commercial landlord-tenant is more straightforward than residential in my opinion because commercial tenancies are less regulated than residential.  Typically what a commercial landlord and tenant agreed to and placed into their lease agreement is what governs.  The Wisconsin Administrative Code's ATCP 134 does not ...

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Landlord's Omnibus Bill Signed Into Law - Read It Now

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in ATCP 134, AASEW, Legislation, Rental Agreements, Rental Documents, State of Wisconsin, Act 143 (Landlord's Omnibus Law) / Comments

Governor Walker did sign the Landlord's Omnibus Bill into law.I appreciate the effort of everyone that called the Governor's office asking him to veto the bill due to its deficiencies.Here is a link to the new law.  Much easier to read than having to go back and forth between the orginal bill, the Substitute bill and the two amendments.The two main concerns that I have with the law and which caused ...

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Upon Further Reflection, I Think The Governor Should Veto The Landlord's Omnibus Bill

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Legislation, Notices, Rental Agreements, Rental Documents, Act 143 (Landlord's Omnibus Law) / Comments

I spent several hours yesterday reviewing and thinking about the new Landlord's Omnibus Bill that is to be signed into law today by Governor Walker at 4 pm.I then spent hours of time trying to summarize the new law in yesterday's blog post in an easy to read and understand format.Since publishing the blog post yesterday I have a few more thoughts and concerns:1.  AASEW Board member and friend Tim Ballering ...

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Landlord's Omnibus Bill -- with Amendments -- To Be Signed Into Law Today

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in ATCP 134, Legislation, Rental Agreements, Rental Documents, State of Wisconsin, Act 143 (Landlord's Omnibus Law) / Comments

One of the biggest pieces of pro-Landlord legislation in quite some time was passed by the Wisconsin Senate and adopted by the Assembly recently and will be signed into law by Governor Walker today.  Unfortunately some of the pro-Landlord provisions were amended, diluted, or removed.I am certainly not denouncing this new law.  Many aspects of it will be very helpful to landlords.  I just wish that more time had been allowed -- ...

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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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Landlords Should Treat Tenant Roommates As One Person To Better Understand Joint and Several Liability and Resolve Tenant Disputes

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Collections, Rental Agreements, Security Deposit, Joint & Several Liability, Roommates / Comments

I receive many calls from landlords who have questions and concerns involving issues involving their tenant roommates.  While the problems are often factually different the proper way to analyze the situation and arrive at a resolution to the problem, often depends on the same thing --  something called "joint and several liability."Joint and several liability is a legal concept that, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is defined as "the liability of co-promisors of ...

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Avoid Homemade Rental Agreements . . . Regardless of What the Tenant Resource Center Tells You

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Rental Agreements, Rental Documents / Comments

I received a troubling call from a landlord last week.  This landlord had some questions regarding management of her rental properties and told me that she had previosuly called the Landlord-Tenant Resource Center for assistance.  I informed the caller that there is no such animal as the Landlord-Tenant Resource Center and that she had actually spoken with the Tenant Resource Center, a very pro-tenant organization.The landlord continued to tell me that she ...

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