This presentation was moderated by Alexi Millard. The main presenter was Pablo Santiago.

Pablo discussed some of the items that the inspectors are looking for. (This is not an exhaustive list.)

Outside items:

• Checking handrails for 3+ steps
• No loose or missing siding
• No missing shingles
• No chipping paint
• Address plate must be present
• Every tenant must have their own mailbox
• If there is a storm door, it must latch and close properly
• If the main door has a single pane window, a storm door must be present
• Every entry door must have a single-key deadbolt (no double sided deadbolts allowed)
• Tenants cannot be parking on the grass
• The garage doors must be operable and the service doors must be lockable
• The garage cannot have any raw wood, it must be painted or stained

Interior items:

• Every room must have a heat source
• Every window must have operable screen 
• Every window must have a sash lock
• Every window on the first floor has to have a ventilation lock (vent lock or pin lock)
• No chipping paint in the windowsills
• To be considered a bedroom it has to be at least 70 sqft, it must have a closet or a wardrobe, if there is an overhead light there must be an outlet present
• If there is a walk-through room it cannot be counted as a bedroom
• There needs to be a 10-year sealed smoke detector within 6' of the bedroom
• There needs to be a carbon monoxide detector on every level
• Every bathroom has to have a window or an exhaust fan
• All remodeled areas need to have a GFCI within 6' of a water source
• All garbage disposals must be properly connected, no loose wires
• In the basement, 10-year sealed smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector within 15' of the mechanicals
• The unit must not have any open breaker slots in the breaker panels
• Attics must have 2 means of egress (windows or stairwells) and smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector
• Bedrooms are not allowed in basements unless there is proper egress
• Hot water heaters must have pressure relief valves
• Dryers must be vented to the exterior with rigid aluminum, no plastic

NSPRE is the new standard from HUD for inspections, this is going to replace the current inspection standards. 

Download the NSPIRE HCV/PBV INSPECTION CHECKLIST here.

Every change to the program is planned a year in advance so there will be plenty of advance notice when there are changes.

Q&A section:

• Q: Can multiple inspections be done at the same time for the same building (different tenants)? A: If renewal dates with multiple tenants in the same building are within 90 days, MCHS can do one inspection for both units on the same day if they are scheduled.
• Q: How can someone see if an inspection is every year or every other year? A: Inspections get scheduled about 4 months before the renewal so you would find out at that time. Take a look at your tenant code from the contract. There are 4-5 numbers and the letter after it is "v" then its a Section 8 program with a biannual inspection schedule. All other tenants have an annual inspection.
• Q: Is there something that the program offers to inform tenants that they cannot remove the smoke detectors? A: Yes, inform the case manager that the tenant keeps taking the smoke detector down. The case manager can educate them on the safety requirements of this device and if they keep failing the inspection because of it, they will be removed from the program.
• Q: If HQS and City of Milwaukee DNS have differing codes for exterior items, which code is enforced? A: Whichever is stricter.
• Q: Any tips for passing inspections on the first time? A: Walk through the unit the a day or two before the inspection and review everything the inspector will be looking for.

By:  Kirsten Fagerland Pezewski, Pezewski Law Offices, S.C.

March 5, 2025

Did you know that the Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council offers FREE training seminars for FAIR HOUSING issues?

The MMFHC currently has scheduled a Milwaukee seminar on Saturday, March 8, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and a Wauwatosa seminar on Friday, June 6, 2025 from 2:00 p.m. through 4:30 p.m.  Attendees must register in advance.  You can register online: 

          Milwaukee: https://tinyurl.com/MKEFairHousingSpring2025

  Wauwatosa: https://tinyurl.com/TosaFHTrainingJune2025

Why attend?  The MMFHC website says that the seminars cover a wide range of fair housing topics, including:

• Local, state, and federal fair housing laws
• Advertising units in compliance with fair housing law
• Non-discriminatory negotiation with prospective tenants
• Interacting with current tenants in a fair and legal manner
• Reasonable accommodations and modifications for tenants with disabilities

Over the years, I’ve had many clients with many questions about Emotional Support Animals and other fair housing topics.  This is a great opportunity to bring your questions and hear directly from the Fair Housing Council.

The MMFHC link for 2025 training is: Free Fair Housing Training for Housing Providers - 2025  Check the site for future additional training opportunities.

NOTICE THAT THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE:  The information in this blog post is provided for general informational purposes only.  The information contained in this post should not be construed as legal advice from Rental Property Association of WI, Inc. or its individual author.  Please seek appropriate legal or professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances that you may have at issue from a lawyer licensed to practice law in your state or jurisdiction if you wish to obtain legal advice about any matter. 

March 3, 2025

By:  Kirsten Fagerland Pezewski, Pezewski Law Offices, S.C.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced on March 2, 2025 that it will not enforce any penalties or fines associated with the beneficial ownership information reporting rule under the Corporate Transparency Act and its existing regulatory deadlines.  The Department also stated that it will also not enforce any penalties or fines against U.S. citizens or domestic reporting companies or their beneficial owners after the forthcoming rule changes take effect. 

The Treasury Department states that it will issue a proposed rulemaking that will narrow the scope of the rule to foreign reporting companies only. 

You can follow this link to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s notice here: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0038. 

Please be sure that you are working with your accountant and/or attorney to monitor the status of the BOI reporting requirements for your own organizations, and that you understand the requirements and penalties for failure to comply with the CTA.

NOTICE THAT THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE:  The information in this blog post is provided for general informational purposes only.  The information contained in this post should not be construed as legal advice from Rental Property Association of WI, Inc. or its individual author.  Please seek appropriate legal or professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances that you may have at issue from a lawyer licensed to practice law in your state or jurisdiction if you wish to obtain legal advice about any matter. 

Topic: How to Pass a HQS Inspection

When: March 18, 2025 at 10:00am

REGISTER HERE

By Dawn Anastasi, RPA Board Member

This morning I attended the Annual Landlord Breakfast hosted by the Havenwoods Neighborhood Partnership.

The event was moderated by JeTaun Taylor, the Community & Safety Director for the Havenwoods Neighborhood Partnership.

The primary speaker was Attorney Tristan Pettit, who spoke about the Koble case and gave updates to the attendees.

Also in attendance were a panel of city personnel, including:

• Staff from DPW (Department of Public Works), DNS (Department of Neighborhood Services), and the Forestry Division
• Two Community Liaison Officers from Police District 4
• An Assistant District Attorney
• Milwaukee Common Council President José Pérez
• Milwaukee Alderperson Mark Chambers

Attendees were treated to a continental breakfast and after the main presentation by Tristan Pettit, were able to have a Q&A session with Tristan and the entire panel.

It was an informative event, and I highly encourage RPA members to attend the next Landlord Breakfast.

By:  Kirsten Fagerland Pezewski, Pezewski Law Offices, S.C.

February 20, 2025

The federal Financial Crimes Enforcement Network announced on February 18, 2025 that beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) are once again in effect.

FinCEN states that for “the vast majority of reporting companies, the new deadline to file an initial, updated and/or corrected BOI report is now March 21, 2025.”  Please follow the link below to FinCEN’s notice to read about exceptions to the general reporting deadline on March 21, 2025. 

In addition, during this extension for filing, FinCEN notes that it will be assessing options to further modify deadlines, while prioritizing reporting for those entities that pose the most significant national security risks, so it continues to be important to monitor developments with this reporting requirement. 

You can follow this link to FinCEN’s notice here:  FinCEN Notice, FIN-2025-CTA1, 2/18/2025.  Or, you can follow this link to the FinCEN website here:  United States Department of the Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network | FinCEN.gov

Because of the harsh penalties for failing to comply with the CTA and reporting requirements (criminal penalties of up to two years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $10,000 and/or civil penalties of $591 per day increased annually by inflation) it’s very important to continue to monitor the status of the Corporate Transparency Act and its reporting requirements and how those requirements may affect your business entities.

Please be sure that you are working with your accountant and/or attorney to monitor the status of the BOI reporting requirements for your own organizations, and that you understand the requirements and penalties for failure to comply with the CTA.

By Dawn Anastasi, RPA Board Member

I attended the Property Management Panel held by the Milwaukee County Housing Services Division. The moderator was Alexi Millard, Landlord Coordinator.

The panelists:

• Ed Riggenbach, Welcome Home Milwaukee
• Liz Perez, Smart Asset
• Akram Khan - KPM Property Management

Here are some of the questions that came up during the panel and the answers from the panelists.

What trends are you seeing in the rental housing market?

• Tenants are having higher and higher expectations for how quickly someone can come out to fix something and how 'upgraded' the property is
• Very high instances of fraud committed by applicants
• Growing expenses for rental properties -- insurance, maintenance
• Rents are staying strong

What percentage of property values are owners charging for rent?

• Years ago it was around 2% for new purchases, then it went down to around 1%, now it's around 0.6-0.7%
• If you get 1% today, you are lucky
• The market is softening, interest rates are not budging

What has been your experiences working with the Rent Assistance Program?

• The benefit is that the process is already there, there is no need to reinvent the wheel
• Everyone wants guaranteed rent and zero risk and this is just not a thing in this industry
• Working with Rent Assistance reduces the risk because the government pays for at least a portion of the rent, if the tenant loses their job, the Rent Assistance program can re-evaluate their situation and re-adjust the payment schedule to the owner
• One downside is the waiting -- waiting for the contract to be signed, waiting for the inspection to be scheduled, etc

What incentives or policy changes would make participating in Rent Assistance more attractive?

• Greater speed of communication and assistance
• Ability to think outside the box and come up with solutions for issues that arise
• Funding for property damage by the tenant outside normal wear and tear

Note: Owners have to register for the LIFT program in order to get reimbursements for property damage.

• The LIFT program does not apply to HACM, only MCHS.
• The program only applies to NEW tenants, not existing tenants.

How do you navigate issues like Late Payments when working with Rent Assistance?

• Get in front of it ASAP
• Communicate with the tenant
• Send a 30-day notice (5 day notice not allowed for tenants on Rent Assistance due to the CARES Act)

How do you navigate inspections when working with Rent Assistance?

• Go through the property using the inspection checklist and make sure that that everything on the list is in working order and that there are no surprises
• The most frustrating aspect of inspections is that the Housing Authority coordinates the inspection with the tenant and gives little to no opportunity for the owner to be there

How do you handle tenant retention and reduce turnover?

• Provide good customer service
• Use technology such as online payment options
• Handle situations quickly and in a professional manner
• Try to find common ground and compromise on tenant requests

Next Town Hall Topic: How to Pass a HQS Inspection

March 18th at 10:00am

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has accepted Koble for review!

By:      Kirsten Fagerland Pezewski, Pezewski Law Offices, S.C.

            February 16, 2025

On February 12, 2025, the Wisconsin Supreme Court accepted the matter of Koble Investments v. Elicia Marquardt, 2022AP000182, for review.  It has been a long wait to see whether this case would be reviewed.  The Petition for Review was filed by attorneys for Koble Investments on May 23, 2024.

After the filing of the Petition for Review, Rental Property Association of Wisconsin, Inc., and its partner organizations (Wisconsin Realtors Association, Apartment Association of Northeast Wisconsin, Inc., Fox Valley Apartment Association, Inc., and Kenosha Landlord Association, Inc.) filed an amicus (friend of the court) brief, together with a supplement to the original brief.  The amicus brief was filed with the Court on June 6, 2024.

The amicus brief argued to the court that the damages awarded in the Koble case by the Court of Appeals were not correct because the Court of Appeals:

·       Incorrectly applied the Wisconsin Consumer Act to residential leases

·       Ignored the periodic tenancy that existed despite the allegedly voided lease

·       Incorrectly held that the tenant’s rent payments were a pecuniary loss

·       Failed to require the tenant to show a causal connection between the violation and purported harm

The purpose of the amicus brief was to explain to the Supreme Court why it should grant the landlord’s petition for review, and the Court has granted the petition for review.  Now, the Court of Appeals decision will be reviewed, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court will have the opportunity to change or modify the law made by the decision of the Court of Appeals.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has set a briefing schedule for the parties.  Koble’s brief is due March 14, 2025, and the tenant’s attorney’s brief is due 20 days after the Koble brief.  Koble will have 10 days to file a brief in reply.  When briefs are filed, the Court will most likely set this matter for oral arguments.  The RPA does not expect a decision is likely to be issued prior to August of 2025.

RPA and its partner organizations are considering filing additional amicus briefs. 

Sharing an event from the Havenwoods Neighborhood Partnership

Event Details:

Date: Thursday, February 20, 2025

⏰ Time: 9:30 AM – 11:30 AM

Location: Wisconsin Country Club, 6200 W Good Hope Rd, Milwaukee, WI 53223

Cost: $10 per person includes continential breakfast

REGISTER HERE

Monthly virtual information sessions for housing providers will be held on the 2nd Wednesday of each month from 10 a.m. - 11 a.m. CST.

Details on the next session:

Date: Wednesday, February 12, 2025

• Time: 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
• Location: Microsoft Teams
• Click here to join the meeting
• Meeting ID: 291 278 921 882
• Passcode: WUuwKK

Prefer to call-in only (no video)?

• 414-251-0392
• Phone Conference ID: 252 725 593#

Message from HACM Regarding Backlog

We are aware that there is a backlog of work, and we have assembled a team to address this backlog. We plan to have all late annual re-examinations addressed by May 31, 2025, and the Housing Assistance Payments made by HACM on behalf of your HCV tenant(s) will continue during this period and not be affected. We thank you in advance for your patience during this time as we work diligently to get the backlog cleared.

New Call Center

To improve customer service and efficiency, a new Call Center has been implemented for the HCV Program that includes more options for assistance and a ticketing system for tracking inquiries. Not only can HCV participants and housing providers call the HCV Program office at 414-286-5650 to speak with a HACM representative during standard business hours (Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), but they can also email hcvsupport@hacm.org to create a ticket that will be routed to the appropriate staff for assistance.

Housing providers can continue to contact Stephen Fendt, Outreach Coordinator, directly with questions and concerns.

However, please send all time-sensitive materials (i.e., 30-day quit or pay notices, rent increases, RTAs for new tenants) to hcvsupport@hacm.org for processing and refer any of your HCV tenants to the Call Center for support with recertification, income adjustments, etc.

Inspection Scheduling

A new inspection scheduling process has been established to provide additional notice for upcoming appointments. In addition to the biennial inspection appointment letter sent to you via U.S. Mail, you will now also receive several automated calls prior to the inspector's arrival at the unit — 2 weeks, 24 hours and 1 hour.

The phone number called will be the number we have on file for your account, so please make sure you keep that number updated through the Landlord Portal.