The authority of political subdivisions to regulate rental properties and historic properties and of municipalities to inspect dwellings, public utility service to rental dwelling units, landlord and tenant regulations, fees imposed by a political subdivision, certain levy limit reductions, certain procedural changes in eviction actions, information available on the consolidated court automated Internet site, discrimination in housing against individuals who keep certain animals, falsely claiming an animal to be a service animal, municipal administrative procedure, enforcement of the rental unit energy efficiency program, and providing penalties. (FE)

Landlord and tenant regulation This bill provides that if a political subdivision has in effect an ordinance that authorizes the inspection of a rental property or rental unit upon a complaint from an inspector or other employee or elected official of the political subdivision, the political subdivision must maintain a record of certain information related to inspections performed upon a complaint from an employee or official.

Current law prohibits a political subdivision from charging a fee for an inspection unless the fee is uniform for all residential rental inspections. Under this bill, the fee must also not exceed the actual and direct cost of performing the inspection.

The bill makes various changes to the requirements that apply to the notice that a landlord must give to a tenant to terminate a lease based on the tenant's failure to pay rent. First, the bill provides that, when calculating the amount due in the notice, “rent” includes any past due rent and any late fees.

Second, the bill specifies that a notice for failure to pay rent or other amount due under a rental agreement that includes an incorrect statement of the amount due is valid unless the tenant has paid or tendered payment of the amount that the tenant admits is actually due.

The bill make various changes to the law regarding background and credit checks. The bill raises the maximum amount a landlord can charge a tenant for a consumer credit report, specified in administrative code provisions, from $20 to $25.

The bill also specifies that a landlord may charge a prospective tenant who is not a resident of this state up to $25 for conducting a background check.

The bill also specifies that, when a landlord charges a tenant for reasonable costs of remediation, repair, or redecoration, reasonable costs include materials provided and labor performed by the landlord and time spent by the landlord doing specified activities. Finally, the bill allows a landlord and tenant to agree in the rental agreement that the landlord may provide documents, such as an advanced notice of entry and the security deposit refund, to the tenant through electronic means.

Finally, under the bill, an ordinance enacted by a city, town, village, or county to regulate the abatement of rent may only provide abatement for conditions that materially affect the health or safety of a tenant or substantially affect the use and occupancy of the premises.

Local fees and charges This bill specifies that a political subdivision may not impose a fee or charge related to the political subdivision enforcing an ordinance related to building or property maintenance standards unless the political subdivision first notifies, by first class mail or e-mail or other electronic means, the person against whom the fee or charge is to be imposed that the fee or charge may be imposed.

Municipal dwelling inspection The bill prohibits a city, village, or town from enacting or enforcing an ordinance or otherwise imposing a requirement that includes aesthetic considerations for purposes of inspection criteria for the interior of any structure or part of a structure that is used or intended to be used as a home, residence, or sleeping place. The bill defines “aesthetic considerations” to include considerations relating to color and texture and design considerations that do not relate to health or safety.

Public utility service to rental dwelling units The bill requires a public utility that provides electric service to a tenant residing in a rental dwelling unit to notify the owner of the unit no later than five days before disconnecting service based on nonpayment by the tenant, but only if the owner has requested the public utility to make the notification. In addition, the bill allows a public utility to provide information about a tenant's past due charges to the owner by telephone. The bill also prohibits a public utility that provides any type of service to require the owner of a rental dwelling unit to provide proof of eviction or other evidence that a tenant has vacated the unit as a condition for providing or resuming service to the unit.

Municipal utility arrearage collection Current law provides certain procedures for the collection of municipal utility charges that are in arrears. Under one procedure, if a municipal utility provides utility service to a property and payment for the service is in arrears, the utility has a lien on the property and may have arrearages inserted as a tax on the property.

In addition, if the municipal utility uses the arrearage collection procedure for a property that is a rental dwelling unit and provides a notice of arrearage to the owner, the municipality has a lien on the property of a tenant who is responsible for the arrearage. Also under current law, a municipal utility must send bills for water or electric service to a customer who is a tenant in the tenant's own name.

Under this bill, a municipal utility may make use of the procedures described above only if the utility is in compliance with the requirement that it send bills for water or electric service to a tenant in the tenant's own name.

Levy limits Generally, under current law, local levy limits are applied to the property tax levies that are imposed by political subdivisions in December of each year. Current law prohibits a political subdivision from increasing its levy by a percentage that exceeds its “valuation factor,” which is defined as the greater of either 0 percent or the percentage change in the political subdivision's equalized value due to new construction, less improvements removed.

Also under current law, a political subdivision must reduce its allowable levy by the estimated amount of any revenue from fees or payments in lieu of taxes if the revenue is received for providing certain “covered services” that were funded with property tax revenues in calendar year 2013. The “covered services” are garbage collection, fire protection, snow plowing, street sweeping, and storm water management, except garbage collection by a political subdivision that owned and operated a landfill on January 1, 2013.

This bill eliminates the levy limit reduction exception for garbage collection by a political subdivision that owned and operated a landfill on January 1, 2013. Also under this bill, the amount by which a political subdivision must reduce its levy under this provision is limited to the amount expended in 2013 from the levy of the political subdivision for providing the covered service.

Procedural changes in eviction actions This bill makes certain changes to the requirements for filing and pleading an action for eviction and to the defenses and remedies available in an eviction action.

Court records Under current law, the director of state courts maintains the consolidated court automation program website, which is an internet site that is the statewide electronic circuit court case management system. The director of state courts has discretion regarding what information is available through the CCAP website.

Under the bill, the director of state courts may not remove case management information from CCAP for any civil case that is not a closed, confidential, or sealed case for a period of at least ten years after the date that final judgment was entered in the case.

Service or assistance animals; emotional support animals Under the state open housing law, various forms and types of discrimination in housing are prohibited, including discrimination against persons with disabilities.

In addition, the open housing law contains a provision that specifically addresses individuals whose vision, hearing, or mobility is impaired and who keep an animal specially trained to lead or assist the individual.

The bill repeals this provision and replaces it with provisions that address 1) animals that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for persons with disabilities and 2) emotional support animals, which are defined in the bill as animals that provide emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship but that are not trained to perform tasks for the benefit of persons with disabilities.

Subject to certain exceptions, the bill provides that it is discrimination in housing to deny housing to an individual with a disability who keeps either type of animal.

However, the bill provides that a person seeking to keep an animal that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability may be requested to provide documentation of his or her disability and disability-related need for the animal, unless such disability or need is already known or apparent. The bill also provides that a person seeking to keep an emotional support animal may be requested to provide documentation, from a state-licensed health professional acting within his or her scope of practice, of his or her disability and disability-related need for the animal. Finally, the bill includes forfeiture penalties for a person who misrepresents having a disability or a disability-related need for an emotional support animal in order to obtain housing, and for a licensed health professional who makes such misrepresentations regarding his or her patient.

Municipal administrative review Current law provides a procedure by which a person who is adversely affected by an administrative determination made by a municipality may have review of the determination. This bill provides that if a municipal authority's order is overturned or the municipal authority withdraws the order that was the subject of the appeal, the municipality and municipal authority must refund any fee paid to it by the appellant as a condition of filing the appeal.

Enforcement of rental unit energy efficiency program The 2017-19 budget act, 2017 Wisconsin Act 59 , eliminated the rental unit energy efficiency program effective January 1, 2018. Under the program, the Department of Safety and Professional Services established a code of minimum energy efficiency standards for rental units. Also under the program, an owner of a rental unit, before transferring an ownership interest in the unit, was required do one of the following:

1. Have the unit inspected by a certified inspector who issues a certificate stating that the unit meets the minimum energy efficiency standards.

2. If the unit is scheduled for demolition within two years, obtain a waiver of the certification requirement from DSPS or a certified inspector.

3. Obtain a stipulation between the transferee of the unit and DSPS or the city, village, or town in which the unit is located stating that the transferee will bring the unit into compliance with the minimum energy efficiency standards no later than one year after the date of the transfer.

This bill provides that, effective on the program elimination date, 1) an order related to the program issued by DSPS before that date is void and unenforceable;

2) DSPS may not take any enforcement action related to a violation of the program that occurs before that date; and 3) a stipulation or waiver related to the program entered into before that date is void and unenforceable.

Because this bill may increase or decrease the cost of the development, construction, financing, purchasing, sale, ownership, or availability of housing in this state, the Department of Administration, as required by law, will prepare a housing impact analysis to be printed as an appendix to this bill.