Student and city leaders criticized the impact a new bill would have on tenant and landlord relations Wednesday.
Senate Bill 107, which passed in the state Assembly Tuesday, prohibits Wisconsin cities from placing certain restrictions on landlords and standardizes Wisconsin housing laws, according to bill author state Sen. Frank Lasee, R-De Pere.
“This bill creates a statewide standard that lets property owners screen problem tenants when renting to them—those that don’t pay their bills, that have criminal records or are harmful to their neighbors,” Lasee said in a statement.
However, according to Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, the bill interjects on policies Madison’s Common Council developed to protect citizens actively from predatory landlord practices.
“For the past 25 years we’ve had a positive relationship in between tenants and landlords,” Resnick said. “To have the state now interject I think is wrong and very unfair for tenants, particularly students.”
The Associated Students of Madison said in a release the bill “will not only eliminate local sanctions put in place to protect student renters, but it will effectively prohibit the creation of new ordinances that may counteract its effects.”
According to Resnick, there is a movement requesting landlords and property managers to continue to comply voluntarily with the same practices to maintain good tenant-landlord relationships.
“Not only is this a direct violation of tenants’ assumed rights, but it is an abuse of power and one students will not stand for,” ASM Legislative Affairs Chair Hannah Somers said in a statement.
