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Bills from the 2009–10 session

Senate Bill 78

Protections for tenants in foreclosure actions

Topics: Damage (personal injury), Landlord and tenant, Mortgage, State Courts, Director of

Stopped in committee

It never got a ⁠, so it never came up for a vote. To try again, a lawmaker would have to start a new bill.

  1. Introduced, passed

    Feb 18, 2009

  2. Committee, stopped here

    Stopped here. No public hearing was held.

  3. Senate vote, not reached

  4. Assembly vote, not reached

  5. Governor, not reached

  6. Law, not reached

Latest entry in the official record, Apr 28, 2010: “Failed to pass pursuant to ⁠”

It never got a hearing in the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Corrections, Insurance, Campaign Finance Reform, and Housing. See every bill that never got a hearing this session.

Read the bill

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What it would have done

Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.

Under current law, if the owner of real property that is subject to a mortgage defaults in making payments, the mortgagee, which is usually a financial institution, may commence a foreclosure action. If the mortgagee (plaintiff) prevails and obtains a foreclosure judgment, the property owner (mortgagor) may redeem the property before a sheriff's sale by paying the amount of the judgment to the clerk of court. If the mortgagor does not redeem the property, it will be sold at a sheriff's sale after the redemption period, which can last from three months to one year, depending on the type of property and whether the mortgagor will owe a deficiency, which is the amount by which the judgment exceeds the amount obtained at the sale.

Also under current law, if property that is subject to a mortgage is leased after the lien of the mortgage attaches, the lease is subject to termination if the interest of the mortgagor terminates. Thus, the lease of a tenant to property that is subject to a mortgage terminates and the tenant may be evicted, if the landlord loses the property in a foreclosure action.

Read the full summary

This bill requires the plaintiff in a foreclosure action against residential rental property to provide the tenants of the property with notice that a foreclosure action has been filed, notice that the plaintiff has been granted judgment, along with notice of the date on which the redemption period ends, and notice of the date and time of the hearing to confirm the sale of the property. A tenant may recover $250 in damages if a notice is not given. In addition, the bill provides that a tenant may retain possession of the rental unit for up to two months after the end of the month in which the sale of the property is confirmed, and may withhold rent in the amount of the security deposit for the last period during which the tenant actually retains possession of the rental unit.

The bill also requires a landlord to notify any prospective tenant in writing that a foreclosure action has been commenced and, if judgment has been entered, the date on which the redemption period ends. Any rental agreement entered into during the pendency of a foreclosure action must include a separate statement, signed by the tenant, that the landlord has provided the required notices, or it is voidable at the option of the tenant.

Under current law, the director of state courts has established a consolidated electronic system that contains information about cases filed in the circuit courts in the state, including both civil cases and criminal cases. This system, known as the Consolidated Court Automation Programs (CCAP), contains a variety of information about the parties to circuit court cases, their attorneys, documents filed with the court, and deadlines, decisions, and outcomes of cases. The information regarding case data contained on the CCAP system is available in the court's Internet Web site called the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access (WCCA). This bill prohibits the placing of any information on a civil action concerning the removal of a tenant from a residential rental property in the WCCA Internet Web site if that removal was the result of a mortgage foreclosure of the residential rental property.

Who's behind it

3 senators are its ⁠. All 3 are Democrats.

18 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 21 names

Authors (3)

Signed on in support (18)

What happened

  1. Apr 28, 2010

    The session ended, and the bill died with it.

  2. Feb 18, 2009

    Sent to the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Corrections, Insurance, Campaign Finance Reform, and Housing.

  3. Feb 18, 2009

    Introduced in the Senate.

See the official record, word for word
  1. Feb 18, 2009 · Senate

    Introduced by Senators Taylor, Carpenter and Coggs;Cosponsored by Representatives Hintz, Soletski, Fields, Cullen, Richards, Krusick, Staskunas, Seidel, Pocan, Grigsby, Toles, Berceau, Roys, Zepnick, Kessler, Jorgensen, A. Williams and Sinicki

  2. Feb 18, 2009 · Senate

    Read first time and referred to committee on Judiciary, Corrections, Insurance, Campaign Finance Reform, and Housing

  3. Apr 28, 2010 · Senate

    Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1

Terms on this page

Committee

A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.

More in the glossary

Public hearing

A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.

More in the glossary

Senate Joint Resolution 1

The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.

Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1. More in the glossary

Legislative Reference Bureau

The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.

Official term: LRB analysis. More in the glossary

Author

A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Official term: Author, coauthor. More in the glossary

Signed on in support

Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.

Official term: Cosponsor. More in the glossary

From the Wisconsin Legislature's official record, checked Sep 15, 2026. See the source

Committee

A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.

More in the glossary

Public hearing

A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.

More in the glossary

Senate Joint Resolution 1

The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.

Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1

More in the glossary

Legislative Reference Bureau

The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.

Official term: LRB analysis

More in the glossary

Author

A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Official term: Author, coauthor

More in the glossary

Signed on in support

Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.

Official term: Cosponsor

More in the glossary