SB466: Bill Text

SB466, s. 4 Section 4. 704.03 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB466,5,2 704.03 (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.

SB466, s. 5 Section 5. 704.05 (5) (title) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB466,5,5 704.05 (5) (title) Storage or disposition Disposition of personalty left by tenant.

SB466, s. 6 Section 6. 704.05 (5) (a) (title) of the statutes is repealed and recreated to read:

SB466,5,7 704.05 (5) (a) (title) At the landlord's discretion.

SB466, s. 7 Section 7. 704.05 (5) (a) (intro.) and 1. of the statutes are consolidated, renumbered 704.05 (5) (a) 1. and amended to read:

SB466,6,2 704.05 (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 dispose of the abandoned personal property in any manner that the landlord, in its sole discretion, determines is appropriate. The tenant is responsible for any costs that the landlord incurs with respect to disposition of the abandoned personal property.

SB466, s. 8 Section 8. 704.05 (5) (a) 2. of the statutes, as affected by 2011 Wisconsin Act 32, is amended to read:

SB466,6,18 704.05 (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).

SB466, s. 9 Section 9. 704.05 (5) (a) 3. of the statutes is repealed.

SB466, s. 10 Section 10. 704.05 (5) (c) of the statutes is renumbered 704.05 (5) (b) and amended to read:

SB466,7,7 704.05 (5) (b) 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.

SB466, s. 11 Section 11. 704.05 (5) (cm) of the statutes is created to read:

SB466,7,11 704.05 (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.

SB466, s. 12 Section 12. 704.05 (5) (d) of the statutes is repealed.

SB466, s. 13 Section 13. 704.07 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB466,7,19 704.07 (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.

SB466, s. 14 Section 14. 704.07 (2) (bm) of the statutes is created to read:

SB466,7,24 704.07 (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:

SB466,8,2 1. The landlord has received notice of the violation from a local housing code enforcement agency.

SB466,8,4 2. The violation affects the dwelling unit that is the subject of the prospective rental agreement or a common area of the premises.

SB466,8,5 3. The violation has not been corrected.

SB466,8,6 4. The date by which the violation must be corrected has passed.

SB466, s. 15 Section 15. 704.07 (3) (bm) of the statutes is created to read:

SB466,8,11 704.07 (3) (bm) If the premises is in need of any repair or other maintenance, before reporting the problem to a building inspector, elected public official, or local housing code enforcement agency, a tenant shall first notify the landlord in writing and allow the landlord adequate time to investigate and rectify the problem.

SB466, s. 16 Section 16. 704.08 of the statutes is created to read:

SB466,8,18 704.08 Information check-in sheet. A landlord shall provide to a residential tenant when the tenant enters into a new rental agreement a standardized information check-in sheet that contains an itemized description of the condition of the premises at the time of check-in. The landlord is not required to provide the information check-in sheet to a tenant upon renewal of a rental agreement.

SB466, s. 17 Section 17. 704.11 of the statutes is amended to read:

SB466,8,23 704.11 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.

SB466, s. 18 Section 18. 704.17 (2) (d) of the statutes is created to read:

SB466,9,2 704.17 (2) (d) This subsection does not apply to week-to-week or month-to-month tenants.

SB466, s. 19 Section 19. 704.27 of the statutes is amended to read:

SB466,9,18 704.27 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.

SB466, s. 20 Section 20. 704.28 of the statutes is created to read:

SB466,9,23 704.28 Withholding from security deposits. (1) Standard provisions. When a landlord returns a security deposit to a tenant after the tenant vacates the premises, the landlord may withhold from the full amount of the security deposit only amounts reasonably necessary to pay for any of the following:

SB466,9,24 (a) Tenant damage, waste, or neglect of the premises.

SB466,9,25 (b) Unpaid rent for which the tenant is legally responsible, subject to s. 704.29.

SB466,10,2 (c) Payment that the tenant owes under the rental agreement for utility service provided by the landlord but not included in the rent.

SB466,10,5 (d) Payment that the tenant owes for direct utility service provided by a government-owned utility, to the extent that the landlord becomes liable for the tenant's nonpayment.

SB466,10,8 (e) Unpaid monthly municipal permit fees assessed against the tenant by a local unit of government under s. 66.0435 (3), to the extent that the landlord becomes liable for the tenant's nonpayment.

SB466,10,10 (f) Any other payment for a reason provided in a nonstandard rental provision document described in sub. (2).

SB466,10,21 (2) Nonstandard rental provisions. Except as provided in sub. (3), a rental agreement may include one or more nonstandard rental provisions that authorize the landlord to withhold amounts from the tenant's security deposit for reasons not specified in sub. (1) (a) to (e). Any such nonstandard rental provisions shall be provided to the tenant in a separate written document entitled "NONSTANDARD RENTAL PROVISIONS." The landlord shall specifically identify and discuss each nonstandard rental provision with the tenant before the tenant enters into a rental agreement with the landlord. If the tenant signs a nonstandard rental provision, it is rebuttably presumed that the landlord has specifically identified and discussed the nonstandard rental provision with the tenant and that the tenant has agreed to it.

SB466,10,25 (3) Normal wear and tear. This section does not authorize a landlord to withhold any amount from a security deposit for normal wear and tear, or for other damages or losses for which the tenant cannot reasonably be held responsible under applicable law.

SB466, s. 21 Section 21. 704.29 (title) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB466,11,3 704.29 (title) Recovery of rent and damages by landlord; mitigation; return of security deposit.

SB466, s. 22 Section 22. 704.29 (5) of the statutes is created to read:

SB466,11,11 704.29 (5) Return of security deposit. If a tenant under a rental agreement who has paid a security deposit vacates the premises before the termination date of the rental agreement, the landlord shall deliver or mail to the tenant the full amount of the security deposit, less any amounts that may be withheld under s. 704.28, within 21 days after the date on which the tenant's rental agreement terminates or, if the landlord rerents the premises before the tenant's rental agreement terminates, within 21 days after the new tenant's tenancy begins.

SB466, s. 23 Section 23. 704.44 (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB466,11,17 704.44 Rental Provision in rental agreement that restricts access to certain services is void. (intro.) A provision in a rental agreement is void and unenforceable if it that allows a landlord in a residential tenancy to do any of the following because a tenant has contacted an entity for law enforcement services, health services, or safety services is void and unenforceable:

SB466, s. 24 Section 24. 799.40 (1m) of the statutes is created to read:

SB466,11,22 799.40 (1m) Acceptance of rent. If a landlord commences an action under this section against a tenant whose tenancy has been terminated for failure to pay rent, the action under this section may not be dismissed solely because the landlord accepts past due rent from the tenant after the termination of the tenant's tenancy.

SB466, s. 25 Section 25 . Initial applicability.

SB466,12,2 (1) Disposal of property. The treatment of sections 321.62 (15) (a), 704.05 (5) (title), (a) (title), (intro.), 1., 2., and 3., (c), and (d), and 704.11 of the statutes first applies to property left behind by a tenant under a tenancy commenced, or a lease entered into or renewed, on the effective date of this subsection.

SB466,12,5 (2) Damages for failure to vacate. The treatment of section 704.27 of the statutes first applies to actions for damages, including eviction actions, that are commenced on the effective date of this subsection.

SB466,12,6 (3) Return of security deposits.

SB466,12,10 (a) Timing for return. Except as provided in paragraph (b ), the treatment of section 704.29 (5) of the statutes first applies to tenants vacating before the termination date of a rental agreement who vacate the premises on the effective date of this paragraph.

SB466,12,15 (b) Inconsistent provision. If a rental agreement that is in effect on the effective date of this paragraph contains a provision that is inconsistent with the treatment of section 704.29 (5) of the statutes, the treatment of section 704.29 (5) of the statutes first applies to that rental agreement with respect to the timing of returning a security deposit upon renewal.

SB466,12,18 (4) Void provision and severability of provisions. The treatment of sections 704.02 and 704.44 (intro.) of the statutes first applies to rental agreements that are entered into or renewed on the effective date of this subsection.

SB466,12,19 (End)