Do you want to learn everything there is to know about residential landlord-tenant law in Wisconsin? If so, then you must attend my next Landlord Boot Camp, which will be held on Saturday, November 16th, from 8:30 am – 6 pm at the Sonesta Hotel in WauwatosaI will cover everything a landlord needs to know about residential landlord-tenant law in Wisconsin. We will be covering the all-important topics like:
Construction lien waivers are an indispensable part of the traditional construction payment process. The downstream flow of payment from the owner down to the lowest tier of subcontractor depends upon them. In the real world, the lien waiver is a ticket to payment. Owners and lenders rely upon lien waivers when making progress payments. No sophisticated owner or competent construction loan dispersing agent should make a progress payment without receiving a partial lien waiver from the prime contractor and
Continue Reading Conditional Lien Waivers Under Wisconsin Law – Proceed with Caution
I recently received a question from a client asking whether she could legally charge a nonrefundable pet fee of $150 or a more significant pet rent of $150 for the first month (with all subsequent pet rent being $50). It was an interesting question. Below is the thought process I used to analyze and provide my client with an answer.
We already know that a landlord cannot charge a nonrefundable pet deposit. My previous blog post explains why.
Continue Reading Can Landlords Charge A Nonrefundable Pet Fee? Or What About Charging a Higher Pet Rent for the First Month?
The Rental Property Association of Wisconsin’s Annual Trade Show and Speaker Event, nicknamed RPA-CON 2024, will be held this Friday and Saturday, October 25th and 26th at The Ingleside. You will not want to miss this event. Over 60+ vendors and suppliers to the Rental Industry will be present, and a slew of speakers will present on all aspects of real estate.I will provide a Landlord-Tenant Law update on Friday, October 25th, at 10 a.m. and Saturday, October 26th,
Continue Reading Don’t Miss the RPA’s Annual Tradeshow + Speaker Event – RPA-CON 2024 – On Friday, October 25th + Saturday, October 26th
This is a guest blog post written by Atty. Dave Espin of Pettit Law Group S.C.
In light of the recent Koble Investments v. Marquette decision, it is now more critical than ever for landlords who hold rental properties in their personal names to consider transferring them to limited liability companies. If a tenant files a lawsuit (or a counterclaim in an eviction action) against you, landlords who hold properties in their personal names could face large money judgments
Continue Reading Avoid ‘Fraudulent Transfers’ When Conveying Rental Property to LLCs
The 2023-24 Wisconsin legislative session concluded months ago. It began like the 2021 -22 session ended, with a Democratic governor, large Republican majorities in both houses, and a $4 billion state budget surplus. Over 2,000 bills were introduced, with less than 12% becoming law, and Gov. Tony Evers continued his record-setting veto pace.
Despite that, some construction-related ideas became law.
2023-25 State Budget
The state budget deliberations take up most of the first half of odd-numbered years,
Continue Reading More Heat than Light: New Laws Affecting the Construction Industry
NOTE: The below blog post which was posted on June 18, 2024, is reproduced from the Rental Property Association of Wisconsin’s blog and was written by Atty. Heiner Giese, attorney for the RPA.
Since the Journal Sentinel and the other local news agencies won’t report on this, I thought it was important for people to know.
T
The Wisconsin Supreme Court today [06.18.24] issued it’s long-awaited ruling (Rule Petition 22-03) on how long eviction case records should remain available to
Continue Reading Wisconsin Supreme Court Adopts Landlords' position on Eviction Record Retention
This is a long blog post, and I apologize in advance, but I sincerely hope that you take the time to read it all the way until the end as it is very important that Wisconsin landlords know what they will be facing. This may be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, issues facing landlords in the last 30 years that I have been a practicing attorney, representing many of you.
Koble Investments v. Marquardt (“Koble”) is
Continue Reading ATTENTION LANDLORDS: Wisconsin Court of Appeals case of Koble v. Marquardt Is Now Law
It is very important that landlords that are using the landlord-tenant law rental documents/forms that I draft, and which are sold through Wisconsin Legal Blank (WLB), ensure that they are using the most current forms. To aid you in determining if you are using the most current version, WLB just published the document below on their website, so that you know have one place to go to determine if your rental documents are up to date.
Please be
Continue Reading It Is Very Important That Landlords Ensure That They Are Using the Most Current Version of WLB's Landlord Tenant Rental Forms.
Breaking News from the Rental Property Association of Wisconsin’s website and Blog:
Wisconsin Supreme Court rules on CCAP eviction records
04/16/2024 11:30 AM
The Wisconsin Supreme Court rejected Legal Action’s bid to make eviction judgments disappear in one year instead of the statutory 10-year retention period.
The industry and good renters owe a large thank you to Attorney Heiner Giese, Rick Van Der Leest of the Green Bay and Appleton Associations, and Chris Mokler of the Wisconsin Apartment Association
Continue Reading Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules on CCAP Eviction Records
As of February 13, 2024, the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) E1527–21 “Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process” is now required when Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) are conducted by environmental consultants to qualify for the innocent landowner defense, or the bona fide prospective purchaser or contiguous property owner liability protections, under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) (see: 42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.).
Spring 2024 Landlord Boot Camp for Rental Property Association of Wisconsin (RPA)
Registration
TO
Continue Reading Spring Landlord Boot Camp Will Be Held on Saturday, April 13th
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 rental property.
Thanks
T
Continue Reading Updated Nonstandard Rental Provisions form Now Available at Wisconsin Legal Blank
When it reviews a wetland individual permit application, the DNR must consider the impacts of the entire project proposing wetland fill, and not only the physical footprint of the proposed fill itself. DNR’s purview of secondary impacts extends to otherwise unregulated activities of the permitted project where they result in significant adverse environmental consequences.
In its December 5 decision, Kohler Co. v. Wisconsin DNR and Claudia Bricks and Friends of the Black River Forest (2021AP1187), the Wisconsin Court of
Continue Reading Wisconsin Appeals Court Upholds Rejection of Wetland Fill Permit in Kohler Golf Course Project
I apologize for getting on my soapbox here, but most of you are either landlords or spend more than 40 hours a week representing landlords or working with them. If you don’t fall into one of the above categories, you probably will not want to read this blog post.
I recommend that you read this recent article about Matt Desmond, the author of Evicted and now the author of Poverty. It is called “Princeton’s Matthew Desmond Gets Everything Wrong
Continue Reading Matt Desmond, Author of "Evicted" Has Some Detractors, Including Myself
I apologize for getting on my soapbox here, but most of you are either landlords or spend more than 40 hours a week representing landlords or working with them. If you don’t fall into one of the above categories, you probably will not want to read this blog post.
I recommend that you read this recent article about Matt Desmond, the author of Evicted and now the author of Poverty. It is called “Princeton’s Matthew Desmond Gets Everything Wrong
Continue Reading Matt Desmond, Author of "Evicted" Has Some Detractors, Including Myself.