Madison tenants could soon have a plethora of new city ordinances in the books to protect them from bad landlords after Wednesday night's Madison Housing Committee Landlord and Tenant Issues Subcommittee meeting.
Committee member Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, received unanimous approval for three proposals that had been referred to the subcommitee. The measures all closed \loopholes"" in previous laws, he said.
Landlords will not be able to charge tenants for the cost of cleaning or shampooing carpets under one of the three proposals. City laws already forbid landlords from taking the price of the cleaning from security deposits, though some get around this fact by using nonstandard rental provisions which creates a separate contract between the landlord and tenant for the cost of the work.
""I'm in huge favor of this since landlords want tenants to pay for normal wear and tear, which can't be found anywhere in the law,"" said Subcommittee Chair David Sparer.
The other measures dealt with requiring landlords to paint exterior pretreated wooden structures and guaranteeing that rent discounts some landlords give to tenants for prompt payment does not exceed five percent, keeping with the city law that penalties for late rent also can not exceed that amount.
""It'll go a long way of improving the aesthetics of the downtown neighborhood,"" Verveer said of the painting proposal.
Associated Students of Madison representative David Presberry a UW-Madison junior, presented testimony on a report the subcommittee is preparing on the effects of the two-year old ordinance which protects tenants from landlords showing the property before Dec. 15. Landlords are challenging the ordinance, claiming it has not been necessarily helpful to any one involved in the process.
""It's a good ordinance. ... It's the landlords that create a rat race,"" Presberry said. ""There's no need for them to do that; there's ample housing and it's going to get filled.""
The committee also reviewed a proposal Verveer will introduce to the City Council in October, which would allow Madison Police the power to ticket landlords for not complying with ordinances.
