Assembly passes bill to help Wisconsin landlords by limiting housing inspections, making some evictions easier
MADISON - In a move that critics say could help bad landlords, the state would limit regular housing inspections and make it easier to evict some tenants, under a bill approved Tuesday.
The Assembly sent the inspection proposal to the Senate on a 58-34 vote, with all Republicans except Rep. Todd Novak of Dodgeville voting in favor and all Democrats voting against.
In separate legislation Tuesday, lawmakers also approved two bills to limit the ability of slumlords to purchase foreclosed properties. Those, too, went to the Senate.
The inspection bill's backers say the legislation protects landlords from unreasonable fees and enforcement from local governments — part of a broad series of changes aimed at making it easier and cheaper for landlords to do business.
Rep. John Jagler (R-Watertown), chairman of the Assembly Committee on Housing and Real Estate, said the proposal's lead sponsor, Rep. Robert Brooks (R-Saukville), had worked closely with critics to improve it.
"Numerous changes were made along the way and numerous concerns that Democrats brought to him were (addressed)," Jagler said.
The proposal would restrict regular inspection programs to blighted or high-complaint areas; limit potential violations to health, safety and mechanical problems; and then prohibit for five years the re-inspection of a dwelling with no problems.
In its series Landlord Games, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has reported on how unscrupulous landlords can fail to address code violations and evict tenants in questionable circumstances.
The inspection measure would also ease renovation standards for historic buildings and limit the cases in which tenants could keep an animal for emotional support.
Assembly Bill 771 is one of a series of measures that Republicans have passed in recent years that have strengthened the hand of landlords and limited protections for tenants. The bill would allow landlords to charge higher fees for credit and background checks while limiting the inspection fees charged by local governments.
Groups like End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin have said the bill would make it easier to evict some domestic violence victims who are seeking emergency help to pay their rent.
Currently, courts can block the evictions of domestic abuse victims and other tenants who are waiting to get help through an emergency assistance program. The legislation would limit to 10 working days those court-imposed holds on evictions and would prohibit them in cases where an eviction order has already been issued.
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The bill would also prohibit local governments from doing regular housing inspections outside of problem areas and restrict violations to safety concerns and core deficiencies such as a lack of heating, electricity or running water.
Rep. Chris Taylor (D-Madison) said that most neighborhoods in her city wouldn't meet the criteria for allowing regular inspections of rental housing. That means someone would have to complain before an inspection could happen, she said.
"This bill is going to make it hard, almost impossible, for cities to crack down on slumlords," she said.
Heiner Giese of the Apartment Association of Southeastern Wisconsin disagreed. He said that in the city of Milwaukee there could be more inspections of problem areas because city officials could focus on problem areas.
The bill would also require tenants with an emotional support animal to show documentation about it from a state-licensed health care worker.
Also Tuesday, the Assembly passed on voice votes two other bills dealing with problem landlords — legislation that was introduced after Journal Sentinel stories on unscrupulous landlords.
Assembly Bill 690 would allow counties to use the internet to sell properties foreclosed by lenders, while setting up barriers aimed at keeping slumlords from using the government-sanctioned auctions to restock their inventories.
Officials hope that by allowing counties to conduct sheriff's sales online the pool of buyers would be expanded. Currently, sales buyers must show up in person to bid at the sales. The current buying pool consists largely of lenders and landlords — including those who owe tens of thousands of dollars of back property taxes and building code fines.
Assembly Bill 691 would also ban buyers who owe back property taxes or building code fines from buying foreclosed properties at the sales.
In the case of limited liability companies seeking to buy at sheriff's sales, a representative of the LLC would have to swear that none of its owners owe back property taxes or building code fines. State law allows LLC owners to keep their identities secret.
If the representative is later found to have lied on the required sworn statement, the bidder and the person who signed the affidavit could be fined up to $1,000 if a judge determines the falsehood was made knowingly.
The Assembly also approved on voice votes several other proposals that now go to the Senate:
AB 355 would expand and clarify the definition of criminal child neglect, including making it a felony if a child suffers emotional damage as a result of neglect.
AB 649 would allow the use of air rifles — which have become more powerful and popular in recent years — to hunt big game such as deer.
AB 496 would allow districts to make it easier for students who participate in school shooting groups, such as trapshooting, to bring a firearm onto school property.
AB 221 would create a pilot program in which highly rated school districts could opt out of the state's minimum requirement on the number of hours of classroom teaching — currently 1,137 hours a year for high school students.