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HomeMy WebLinkAbout_WorkshopOshkosh Common Council workshop with the Winnebago Apartment Association May 28 workshop agenda: A. Who we are: The Winnebago Apartment Association is one of 16 chapters of the Wisconsin Apartment Association founded in 1979. The Wisconsin Apartment Association (WAA) is a professional trade association representing owners and managers of rental housing in the state of Wisconsin. Our mission is to provide education, leadership, and representation to enable rental housing providers to operate their businesses successfully, ethically, and responsibly. B. What we do. The Winnebago Apartment Association meets every second Monday of the month September through June. Are main purpose is to inform, educate, and provide leadership to the local rental community and representation to the State Capital in Madison. 8 out of our 10 monthly meetings a year have a topic /speaker on such issues as fair housing laws, finance, business operation, etc. We also offer training in a series of educational courses a wide variety of subjects. These courses are scheduled to be offered online as well hopefully later this year. Rental PropeE!y Management Basics: The 100 Series ■ 101 The Law and the Landlord I: Wisconsin Statute Chapter 704 ■ 102 The Law and the Landlord II: Consumer Protection (ATCP) Chapter 134 • 103 Fair Housing Laws ■ 104 Lead Paid Disclosures: Federal (HUD and EPA, and Wisconsin court cases) • 105 Credit Reports • 106 Basic Recordkeeping • 107 Screening Your Applicants ■ 108 Screening Workshop 109 Nuts and Bolts of Eviction • 110 Bonding and Garnishment Rental Pro a Mana ement Plus: The 200 Series • 201 Maintenance I • 202 Maintenance II ■ 203 Lead Safe Work Practices ■ 204 Mold in Rental Housing • 205 Property Management Forms ■ 206 Computerized Recordkeeping • 207 Marketing and Resident Retention • 208 Politics and the Rental Housing Industry Through our associate members we offer services such as credit reports and current legal forms. Our yearly membership dues are $185.00. This includes a membership in the state organization and to support representation in the State Capital in Madison. Agenda: 1. Education: a. Offer Landlord training classes sponsored by jointly City of Oshkosh and the Wisconsin Apartment Association. Continuing education and professional development is a critical component to insuring safe, affordable attractive rental housing b. Assist and complete the landlord/ tenant handbook that include the Oshkosh minimal housing code, Wisconsin landlord tenant law, landlord /tenant resources & contact information, etc. This is currently being developed by the Oshkosh Housing Authority. c. Create a tenant handbook for distribution at the time of renting/lease signing (suggestion from Middle Village Neighborworks meeting) d. Hold a yearly landlord training day such as is held in many other cities. Oshkosh did hold a landlord training day in the past. The last one was very well attended and held in 1999. 2. Communication: a. Develop a landlord email list for efficient distribution of useful and timely rental housing information possibly developing a E- newsletter/blog. b. c. Develop a working relationship with the City of Oshkosh and Neighborworks as a resource on rental housing issues. 3. Water bill policy improvements ( see separate handout) 4. Rental Rehab program Improve and expand program a. Reduce restrictions and rules for use b. Streamline application and approval process c. Make Neighborworks funds available to owner occupied homes available to renter occupied homes as well. 5. Questions and answers Common council workshop agenda- water bills: Suggestions for improving tenant responsibility in paying of water and sewerage bills: If the water bill is transferred to the property owners tax bill do not wipe the tenant's account clean but beep a record of tenants that had their water bill placed in the property owners name for nonpayment? Make this information available online so future landlords can access this information and take appropriate actions such as charging a water bill deposit or refusing to rent to these prospective tenants. 2. Do not allow tenants that had their water bill placed in the property owners name for nonpayment in their name again at another address until the old delinquent account is paid back to the past landlord. 3. Discontinue charging the property owner a 10 percent penalty if the tenant does not pay their water bill and it is placed on the property owner's tax bill. a. if this practice is not discontinued can this money be placed funding a for program for the rental housing community such rental rehab, landlord education, rental property landscaping and exterior beautification, etc., rather than placed in a general fund. d. With water bills becoming a major household expense than in years past, consider going to a 1 or 2 month billing cycle rather than a 3 month billing cycle. 5. Disconnect water service during the warm weather month of July only if the water bill is not paid for 6 months or two billing cycles. This will prevent the bill from accumulating no more than 6 months rather than for a whole year. Fees for reconnection are billing customer/ tenant's responsibility. 6. Report the delinquent accounts placed in the property owner's tax bill to credit reporting agencies and Wisconsin Circuit Court Access. pVICE C r� N ° Fmscar* 1 ' Suggestions for Landlords to Minimize the Transfer of Arrearages to the Tax Roll 1. Do credit checks on prospective tenants. This may give you insight into whether the tenant will be reliable for the rent and/or utility payments. Wisconsin residential rental practices law allows landlords to the actual cost, up to $20, for a credit report on a prospective tenant. The code reference is as follows: Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.05 Earnest money deposits and credit check fees (4)(a) Except as provided under par. (b), a landlord may require a prospective tenant to pay the Iandlord's actual cost, up to $20, to obtain a consumer credit report on the prospective tenant from a consumer reporting agency that compiles and maintains files on consumers on a nationwide basis. The landlord shall notify the prospective tenant of the charge before requesting the consumer credit report, and shall provide the prospective tenant with a copy of the report. 2. Have a parent co -sign the lease. If the lease includes payment of utilities in addition to rent and the tenant is a student, consider having a parent co -sign the lease. This will allow you to pursue collection of unpaid utility bills and rent from the parent. 3. Ask for duplicate bills. Ask the utility to send you duplicate copies of bills and disconnection notices so you're aware of tenant arrearages. 4. Put service in your name. Ask the utility to put service in your name and increase the tenant's rent to include the cost of the utility service. But remember — the utility is prohibited from disconnecting service if the purpose of the disconnection is to evict a tenant. 5. Change the lease. Add language to your rental lease to make tenancy dependent on payment of utility bills. If the tenant fails to pay the bills, you can pursue an eviction action against the tenant. 6. Deduct unpaid utility bills from the tenant's security deposit. Wisconsin residential rental practices law allows a landlord to withhold unpaid utility bills from a tenant's security deposit. The code reference is as follows: Wis. Admin Code ATCP 134.06(3)(a)3. Security_ Deposit Withholding; Restrictions (a) A landlord may withhold from a tenant's security deposit only for the following: 3. Payment which the tenant owes under the rental agreement for utility service provided by the landlord but not included in the rent. Frequently Asked Questions by Landlords How can I find out what my tenant's water bill balance is? Water is public record. Therefore, anyone can check on any balance at any time. You may contact the water department at 920 - 232 -5325 Monday thru Friday from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm. You may also check balances online at www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us. On the website: go to I Want To, Look up, a Utility bill. You may search by: Account Number, Parcel ID, Service Address, or Account Name. *You may also use this to check on prospective tenants.* What happens if my tenant does not pay the water bill? Interest of 1 % is applied to the past due balance monthly. Delinquent notices are sent out for the district that just billed, if the account is not paid in full. (Every third month). You may check on balances at any time via website or phone. If tenants do not pay water bills, it will roll over onto the owner's property taxes in November of each year. The owner will be notified by mail in October for the amount that will be eligible to transfer if it is not paid by November 15. Also there will be a 10% tax roll interest charge on the balance to transfer if it is not paid by November 1. The amount to transfer may not be the total amount due on an account. What else can I do to minimize the amount I have to pay for my tenant's bill? Do credit checks on prospective tenants. Wisconsin Residential Rental Practices law allows landlords to collect the actual cost for a credit report on a prospective tenant. Also check with the Water Utility to see if prospective tenants have paid their water bills at a previous address. Have a parent co -sign the lease. If the tenant is a student, having a parent co -sign the lease will allow you to seek collection for the unpaid water bills from the parent. Check on the tenants balance regularly. Please read the information above to check balances and to find out how you are notified if a tenant does not pay a water bill. Have your tenants pay monthly. Water bills are sent out quarterly but payments can be made at any time for any amount. If a payment is made without a bill, make sure the address or account number is on the check and write payment in advance on the check. Alert tenants on how to check for leaks. Make sure tenants know that leaks can cause significantly higher water bills. Have them notify you as soon as possible if they think something is not working correctly . Please call us or check our website for information on how to detect leaks and regarding the City's leak adjustment program. Keep the water service in your name. You may have the water service in your name and increase the tenant's rent to include the cost of the water bills. If you use this option, the Water Utility can not disconnect service in order to evict a tenant. Change the lease. Have the lease state that the tenancy is dependant on the payment of water bills. This way if the tenant does not pay the water bill you may be able to start the eviction process. Deduct the water bills from the tenant's security deposit. Wisconsin Residential Rental Practices law allows landlords to withhold unpaid water bills from a tenant's security deposit. If my tenant does not pay the water bill, can I turn off the water? The City of Oshkosh Water Utility does not turn water off for non - payment. Please contact Utility Billing and Records Supervisor Jeremy Maurer at 920 - 232 -5321 for other possible options. What happens if 1 do not have a current tenant renting from me? When in between tenants, the water bill will be put into the owner's name without a service initiation fee. Feel free to contact us to make sure the tenant moving out scheduled a final reading. What if my tenant does not apply for service? ,r • An owner of a property can set up the water bill account under a tenant's name if the tenant has not contacted us. We will send a letter to the tenant letting them know that the account will be set up under their name as of a certain date. The tenant will have a specified time frame to contact us if this is not what they want. We will need to take a reading in order to start the new account under the tenants name.