2011 WISCONSIN ACT 143
An Act to repeal 704.05 (5) (a) 3. and 704.05 (5) (d); to renumber 704.44 (1), 704.44 (2), 704.44 (3) and 704.44 (4); to renumber and amend 704.44 (5); to consolidate, renumber and amend 704.05 (5) (a) (intro.) and 1.;
to amend 321.62 (15) (a), 704.03 (1), 704.05 (1), 704.05 (5) (title), 704.05 (5) (a) 2., 704.05 (5) (c), 704.07 (1), 704.11, 704.27 and 704.44 (intro.); to repeal and recreate 704.05 (5) (a) (title); and to create 66.1010, 704.02, 704.05 (5) (am), 704.05 (5) (b), 704.05 (5) (bf), 704.05 (5) (cm), 704.07 (2) (bm), 704.08, 704.17 (2) (d), 704.28, 704.44 (2m), 704.44 (3m), 704.44 (4m), 704.44 (5m), 704.44 (6), 704.44 (7), 704.44 (8), 704.44 (9), 704.95 and 799.40 (1m) of the statutes; relating to: miscellaneous landlord-tenant provisions and prohibiting a local government from imposing a moratorium on eviction actions.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
143,1
Section
1. 66.1010 of the statutes is created to read:
66.1010 Moratorium on evictions. (1) In this section, "political subdivision" has the meaning given in s. 66.1011 (1m) (e).
(2) A political subdivision may not enact or enforce an ordinance that imposes a moratorium on a landlord from pursuing an eviction action under ch. 799 against a tenant of the landlord's residential or commercial property.
(3) If a political subdivision has in effect on the effective date of this subsection .... [LRB inserts date], an ordinance that is inconsistent with sub. (2), the ordinance does not apply and may not be enforced.
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Section
2. 321.62 (15) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
321.62 (15) (a) Notwithstanding ss. 704.05 (5) and s. 704.90, no person may enforce a lien for storage of any household goods, furniture, or personal effects of a service member during the period in which the service member is in state active duty and for 90 days after the member's completion of state active duty, except as permitted by a court order under par. (b).
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Section
3. 704.02 of the statutes is created to read:
704.02 Severability of rental agreement provisions. The provisions of a rental agreement are severable. If any provision of a rental agreement is rendered void or unenforceable by reason of any statute, rule, regulation, or judicial order, the invalidity or unenforceability of that provision does not affect other provisions of the rental agreement that can be given effect without the invalid provision.
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Section
4. 704.03 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
704.03 (1) Original agreement. A Notwithstanding s. 704.02, a lease for more than a year, or a contract to make such a lease, is not enforceable unless it meets the requirements of s. 706.02 and in addition sets forth the amount of rent or other consideration, the time of commencement and expiration of the lease, and a reasonably definite description of the premises, or unless a writing, including by means of electronic mail or facsimile transmission, signed by the landlord and the tenant sets forth the amount of rent or other consideration, the duration of the lease, and a reasonably definite description of the premises and the commencement date is established by entry of the tenant into possession under the writing. Sections 704.05 and 704.07 govern as to matters within the scope of such sections and not provided for in such written lease or contract.
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Section
5. 704.05 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
704.05 (1) When section applicable. So far as applicable, this section governs the rights and duties of the landlord and tenant in the absence of any inconsistent provision in writing signed by both the landlord and the tenant. This Except as otherwise provided in this section, this section applies to any tenancy.
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6. 704.05 (5) (title) of the statutes is amended to read:
704.05 (5) (title) Storage or disposition Disposition of personalty left by tenant.
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7. 704.05 (5) (a) (title) of the statutes is repealed and recreated to read:
704.05 (5) (a) (title) At the landlord's discretion.
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Section
8. 704.05 (5) (a) (intro.) and 1. of the statutes are consolidated, renumbered 704.05 (5) (a) 1. and amended to read:
704.05 (5) (a) 1. If a tenant removes from the premises and leaves personal property, the landlord may do all of the following: 1. Store the personalty, on or off the premises, with a lien on the personalty for the actual and reasonable cost of removal and storage or, if stored by the landlord, for the actual and reasonable value of storage. The landlord shall give written notice of the storage to the tenant within 10 days after the charges begin. The landlord shall give the notice either personally or by ordinary mail addressed to the tenant's last-known address and shall state the daily charges for storage. The landlord may not include the cost of damages to the premises or past or future rent due in the amount demanded for satisfaction of the lien. The landlord may not include rent charged for the premises in calculating the cost of storage. Medicine and medical equipment are not subject to the lien under this subdivision, and presume, in the absence of a written agreement between the landlord shall promptly return them to and the tenant upon request to the contrary, that the tenant has abandoned the personal property and may, subject to par. (am), dispose of the abandoned personal property in any manner that the landlord, in its sole discretion, determines is appropriate.
704.05 (5) (a) 2. Give the tenant notice, personally or by ordinary mail addressed to the tenant's last-known address, of the landlord's intent to dispose of the personal property by sale or other appropriate means if the property is not repossessed by the tenant. If the tenant fails to repossess the property within 30 days after the date of personal service or the date of the mailing of the notice, If the landlord may dispose disposes of the property by private or public sale or any other appropriate means. The, the landlord may deduct from
send the proceeds of the sale minus any costs of sale and any storage charges if the landlord has first stored the personalty under subd. 1. If the proceeds minus the costs of sale and minus any storage charges are not claimed within 60 days after the date of the sale of the personalty, the landlord is not accountable to the tenant for any of the proceeds of the sale or the value of the property. The landlord shall send the proceeds of the sale minus the costs of the sale and minus any storage charges to the department of administration for deposit in the appropriation under s. 20.505 (7) (h).
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10. 704.05 (5) (a) 3. of the statutes is repealed.
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Section
11. 704.05 (5) (am) of the statutes is created to read:
704.05 (5) (am) Exception for medical items. If the personal property that the tenant leaves behind is prescription medication or prescription medical equipment, the landlord shall hold the property for 7 days from the date on which the landlord discovers the property. After that time, the landlord may dispose of the property in the manner that the landlord determines is appropriate, but shall promptly return the property to the tenant if the landlord receives a request for its return before the landlord disposes of it.
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Section
12. 704.05 (5) (b) of the statutes is created to read:
704.05 (5) (b) Notice required if property is a manufactured or mobile home or a vehicle. 1. In this paragraph:
a. "Manufactured home" has the meaning given in s. 101.91 (2).
b. "Mobile home" has the meaning given in s. 101.91 (10), but does not include a recreational vehicle, as defined in s. 340.01 (48r).
c. "Titled vehicle" means a vehicle, as defined in s. 340.01 (74), for which a certificate of title has been issued by any agency of this state or another state.
2. If the abandoned personal property is a manufactured home, mobile home, or titled vehicle, before disposing of the abandoned property the landlord shall give notice of the landlord's intent to dispose of the property by sale or other appropriate means to all of the following:
a. The tenant, personally or by regular or certified mail addressed to the tenant's last-known address.
b. Any secured party of which the landlord has actual notice, personally or by regular or certified mail addressed to the secured party's last-known address.
143,12f
Section 12f. 704.05 (5) (bf) of the statutes is created to read:
704.05 (5) (bf) Notice that landlord will not store property. If the landlord does not intend to store personal property left behind by a tenant, except as provided in par. (am), the landlord shall provide written notice to a tenant when the tenant enters into, and when the tenant renews, a rental agreement that the landlord will not store any items of personal property that the tenant leaves behind when the tenant removes from the premises, except as provided in par. (am). Notwithstanding pars. (a), (am), and (b), if the landlord does not provide to a tenant the notice required under this paragraph, the landlord shall comply with s. 704.05, 2009 stats., with respect to any personal property left behind by the tenant when the tenant removes from the premises.
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Section
13. 704.05 (5) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:
704.05 (5) (c) Rights of 3rd persons. The landlord's lien and power to dispose as provided by this subsection apply applies to any property left on the premises by the tenant, whether owned by the tenant or by others. That lien has priority over any ownership or security interest, and the The power to dispose under this subsection applies notwithstanding any rights of others existing under any claim of ownership or security interest, but is subject to s. 321.62. The tenant or any secured party has the right to redeem the property at any time before the landlord has disposed of it or entered into a contract for its disposition by payment of the landlord's charges under par. (a) for removal, storage, disposition and arranging for the sale any expenses that the landlord has incurred with respect to the disposition of the property.
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14. 704.05 (5) (cm) of the statutes is created to read:
704.05 (5) (cm) Inapplicability to self-storage facilities. This subsection does not apply to a lessee of a self-storage unit or space within a self-storage facility under s. 704.90.
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15. 704.05 (5) (d) of the statutes is repealed.
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Section
16. 704.07 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
704.07 (1) Application of section. This section applies to any nonresidential tenancy if there is no contrary provision in writing signed by both parties and to all residential tenancies. An agreement to waive the requirements of this section in a residential tenancy, including an agreement in a rental agreement, is void. Nothing in this section is intended to affect rights and duties arising under other provisions of the statutes.
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Section
17. 704.07 (2) (bm) of the statutes is created to read:
704.07 (2) (bm) A landlord shall disclose to a prospective tenant, before entering into a rental agreement with or accepting any earnest money or security deposit from the prospective tenant, any building code or housing code violation to which all of the following apply:
1. The landlord has actual knowledge of the violation.
2. The violation affects the dwelling unit that is the subject of the prospective rental agreement or a common area of the premises.
3. The violation presents a significant threat to the prospective tenant's health or safety.
4. The violation has not been corrected.
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Section
18. 704.08 of the statutes is created to read:
704.08 Information check-in sheet. A landlord shall provide to a new residential tenant when the tenant commences his or her occupancy of the premises a standardized information check-in sheet that contains an itemized description of the condition of the premises at the time of check-in. The tenant shall be given 7 days from the date the tenant commences his or her occupancy to complete the check-in sheet and return it to the landlord. The landlord is not required to provide the information check-in sheet to a tenant upon renewal of a rental agreement. This section does not apply to the rental of a plot of ground on which a manufactured home, as defined in s. 704.05 (5) (b) 1. a., or a mobile home, as defined in s. 704.05 (5) (b) 1. b., may be located.
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Section
19. 704.11 of the statutes is amended to read:
704.11 Lien of landlord. Except as provided in ss. 704.05 (5), 704.90 and 779.43 or by express agreement of the parties, the landlord has no right to a lien on the property of the tenant; the common-law right of a landlord to distrain for rent is abolished.
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Section
20. 704.17 (2) (d) of the statutes is created to read:
704.17 (2) (d) This subsection does not apply to week-to-week or month-to-month tenants.
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Section
21. 704.27 of the statutes is amended to read:
704.27 Damages for failure of tenant to vacate at end of lease or after notice. If a tenant remains in possession without consent of the tenant's landlord after expiration of a lease or termination of a tenancy by notice given by either the landlord or the tenant, or after termination by valid agreement of the parties, the landlord may shall, at the landlord's discretion, recover from the tenant damages suffered by the landlord because of the failure of the tenant to vacate within the time required. In absence of proof of greater damages, the landlord may shall recover as minimum damages twice the rental value apportioned on a daily basis for the time the tenant remains in possession. As used in this section, rental value means the amount for which the premises might reasonably have been rented, but not less than the amount actually paid or payable by the tenant for the prior rental period, and includes the money equivalent of any obligations undertaken by the tenant as part of the rental agreement, such as payment of taxes, insurance and repairs. Nothing in this section prevents a landlord from seeking and recovering any other damages to which the landlord may be entitled.
