AB 561

This bill makes a number of changes to current law relating to landlord-tenant

relations, including the following:

1. Current law provides that, if a tenant leaves behind personal property after

moving out of the rental premises, the landlord may store the property without a lien

and return it to the tenant; store the property with a lien for the cost of storage and

give the tenant notice of the storage within ten days after the charges begin; or give

the tenant notice that after 30 days the landlord intends to dispose of the property

by sale or other appropriate means. If the landlord disposes of the property by sale,

the landlord may deduct the costs of sale from the proceeds. The tenant has 60 days

after the date of the sale to claim the remaining proceeds, and any proceeds not

claimed by the tenant must be sent to the Department of Administration (DOA) to

be used for providing grants to agencies and shelter facilities for the homeless.

Current law allows the tenant or any person with a security interest in the property

to redeem the property before the landlord disposes of it or enters into a contract for

its disposal by paying the landlord's costs for removal, storage, disposition, and

arranging for the sale, of the property.

The bill eliminates the procedures under current law for disposing of personal

property that a tenant leaves behind and provides that, in the absence of a written

agreement to the contrary between the landlord and tenant, the landlord may

presume that the personal property has been abandoned and may dispose of it in any

manner that the landlord determines is appropriate. The tenant is responsible for

any costs that the landlord incurs with respect to the property's disposal. If the

landlord sells the property, the landlord may send the proceeds, minus any costs of

sale and storage, to DOA for use in providing grants to homeless shelters. As under

current law, the tenant or a secured party, however, may redeem the property before

the landlord disposes of the property, or enters into a contract for its disposal, by

paying all charges that the landlord has incurred with respect to the disposal.

2. Currently, what a landlord may deduct from a tenant's security deposit when

the tenant vacates the premises is specified, not in the statutes, but in the Wisconsin

Administrative Code (Code). The bill incorporates the Code provisions into the

statutes and thus provides that a landlord may deduct amounts from a security

deposit for tenant damage to the premises, unpaid rent, unpaid utility services for

which the tenant was responsible, any unpaid monthly municipal permit fees, and

any other reason provided in a nonstandard rental provision to which the tenant has

agreed. A landlord specifically may not deduct amounts from a security deposit for

normal wear and tear.

The bill also provides that, if a tenant removes from the premises before the end

of his or her lease term, the landlord must return the tenant's security deposit within

21 days after the end of the lease term or, if the landlord rerents the premises before

the end of that lease term, within 21 days after the new tenant's tenancy begins.