The city of Madison will have a new weapon in its arsenal to combat neglectful landlords if it decides to allow the Dane County district attorney to bring suit against property owners.
Ald. Tim Bruer, District 14, will introduce a proposal to the City Council later this month that would authorize the city to prosecute the landlords in circuit court, where they will be made to pay fines and repair their holdings or go to jail if they fail to comply with the court's orders.
\They could face possible jail time because they're being placed under state law instead of [Madison's],"" Ald. Todd Jarrell, District 8, said. ""It would not be jail time initially, though; they would be fined first.""
Under current procedure, if delinquent landlords fail to fix their buildings, a lien is placed on the rental. The city then receives money when the building is sold which allows the property owners to delay complying with court orders for years.
Megin Hicks, director of the Tenant Resource Center, said she supports the provision since it would provide under-served tenants with another course of action for recompense beyond civil cases.
""It definitely could be beneficial for our city,"" she said. ""When it comes to our tenant-landlord ordinance, there really isn't a lot of enforcement done by the city.""
The proposal is also beneficial because unlike small claims court, where landlords are only responsible for financial loss, it could target individuals who place the residents' health at risk through poor upkeep of the premises, according to Hicks.
""There are some landlords who definitely deserve jail time; they have properties that put people's health in danger,"" Jarrell said, adding that those individuals make up only a small minority of Madison's landlord population.
Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard said he is open to the idea of prosecuting under the state law, but added that it would depend on the strength of each case presented to him.
""It would matter a lot to me as to what the standard would be for referrals,"" he said. ""If there are significant public health benefits to the prosecution ... then that might make sense.""
Since the cases against the landlords would go from being civil to criminal, the Madison Police Department would handle the referrals to the DA's Office, but it would not be the department's responsibility to handle the initial complaints according to MPD Public Information Officer David Dexheimer.
""I imagine things are going to still originate from the city building inspection,"" he said.
An officer would be dispatched to investigate the situation if it is deemed worthy and report his findings to the to the DA's Office Dexheimer said.
After its introduction to the City Council, the proposal will need to go through the city committee process before the entire council sees it again, when, according to Jarrell, it should have no problem passing.
""There definitely should be a lot of support for this,"" he said.
