Milwaukee County is making their "last call" for applications for ERA (Emergency Rental Assistance) funds. In just one week, submitting new applications will be put on hold while existing applications are processed, to see if there will be any funds left to continue.
The Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) fund was funded by the federal government. Milwaukee County has spent about $70 million of what it was allocated since 2021. Just $8 million remains. "It is for households that were experiencing hardships during the pandemic," said Community Advocates CEO Andi Elliot. Elliot said now is the time for people to be proactive about their home circumstances. "My advice would be looking at your current situation and thinking about it now. This is maybe the time that you need to move on to something that's a little bit more affordable," she said.
The Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) fund was funded by the federal government. Milwaukee County has spent about $70 million of what it was allocated since 2021. Just $8 million remains.
"It is for households that were experiencing hardships during the pandemic," said Community Advocates CEO Andi Elliot.
Elliot said now is the time for people to be proactive about their home circumstances.
"My advice would be looking at your current situation and thinking about it now. This is maybe the time that you need to move on to something that's a little bit more affordable," she said.
See full article here
By Attorney Heiner Giese
This is per Directive issued by Chief Judge Carl Ashley.
Note that the form must be attached to the summons and complaint copy being served on the tenant/defendant and that it must be printed on yellow paper.
You can download the form here.
An article recently appeared in the Biz Times by Milwaukee-area rental property owner Berrada Properties.
In it, Berrada Properties writes:
Evictions cost money, and not only in court costs. In many cases, evictions also result in unrecoverable rent payments and/or property damage to the apartment itself. It is truly in the landlord’s and the tenant’s best interest to avoid eviction.
Compiled by Dawn Anastasi, RPA Board Member
Here are a couple recent articles relating to Wisconsin based housing news.
Bipartisan Housing Bills Aim to Close Wisconsin’s Massive Affordable Housing Gap
To address its growing shortage of affordable housing, Wisconsin needs to build 120,000 additional rental units, Elmer Moore Jr., CEO of the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA), told an Assembly committee at a public hearing Thursday.
In an effort to encourage the massive increase in construction of affordable and workforce housing that is required to close that gap, a bipartisan group of legislators introduced a package of bills last week that would provide low or zero interest loans for several types of housing projects and take steps toward making it easier for developments to be approved at the local level.
The set of four bills establishes programs meant to increase the state’s housing stock but does not include any appropriations to fund those programs. Rep. Robert Brooks (R-Saukville), the chair of the Assembly Committee on Housing and Real Estate and an author of all of the bills, said at Thursday’s hearing that he was hoping the budget-writing Joint Finance Committee would allocate up to $850 million for the programs in the bill package.
$80 Million Emergency Rent Assistance Goes To 22,600 Households
The Milwaukee County Housing Division was the local government agency that passed the money along to organizations like Community Advocates to disburse to residents.
County residents could apply for assistance to pay back rent or to make future rent payments. Residents could meet the criteria for assistance if they or someone in their household qualified for unemployment, lost income or experienced financial hardship due to the pandemic.
But, unfortunately, the funding for the program is running out. The funding came from two pandemic stimulus bills passed in 2020 and 2021 respectvely. Funds from the first bill expired at the end of 2022 and it’s expected that the county will exhaust funds from the second bill by the end of August, Mathy said. The division will primarily focus on responding to applications that have already been filed and disbursing funds using until the money is gone.
By Dawn Anastasi, RPA Board Member
Earlier today I met with two individuals from Milwaukee County Housing Services:
They shared information about Rent Assistance Programs and what you need to know as a landlord.
Here is a summary of this information:
Federally subsidized, tenant-based rent assistance: how does it work?
Tenant is responsible for a maximum of 30-40% of their monthly, gross, adjusted income towards rent
Housing Assistance Payment covers rest of rent amount via direct payment to landlord (monthly)
Main Types of Tenant-Based Rent Assistance (TBRA)
Typical Process for Landlords for TBRA
General Perks of Utilizing Rent Assistance
Tips for Best Utilizing Rent Assistance
Make the following clear when advertising unit availability:
Request pre-screening of your available units before completing and submitting paperwork to rent assistance program
Prepare units for Housing Quality Standards inspections prior to initial inspection
Complete and submit any rent assistance paperwork as quickly as possible, and electronically, if an option (pics are fine)
Reach-out with any issues with non-payment, lease violations, issues, etc. ASAP
Helpful Links
Milwaukee County Housing Services
HUD Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) Landlord Resources Page
Impact 2-1-1 (Crisis Resource Hub for Available Services)
Key Contacts
Milwaukee County Section 8 - Damir Djidic
Milwaukee County My HOME - Jessica Shriver
Milwaukee County Housing First - Shaunton Harris
By Atty Heiner Giese
I had an interesting case before Judge Davis in Milwaukee County.
The case had been settled with a stip in May 2022 providing for dismissal based on tenant paying $100 per month extra to catch up on $900 arrears. We consented to the sealing requested by Legal Aid attorney.
Tenant paid for a while, then fell behind in November and December, we got a writ in early January based on noncompliance, tenant moved out before writ was executed. In March we got a $1000 judgment for back rent (negotiated with Legal Aid though $1300 was due).
Then we moved to unseal her name. She also has several prior evictions with unsatisfied judgments.
The Legal Aid attorney argued against it, citing "inherent power of the court" and that the tenant's name was still searchable on the judgment docket.
Judge Davis went through her usual analysis about when a case can be sealed (public open records interest vs. private interest of tenant to find new housing, etc.), ultimately ruling in our favor to unseal the tenant's name. But at one point it sounded like she was going leave it sealed, noting that plaintiff had not objected, had in fact consented, when the first cause of action was dismissed.
The lesson is this: If you agree to sealing before the case is completely settled, if there is a pay-and-stay stip or if there is a date for future hearing on 2nd & 3rds you should specify that your consent or "no objection" to sealing is conditioned on the tenant living up to their end of any stipulated settlement. That will serve as an additional inducement for the tenant to live up to the stip so they don't lose the benefit of having the case sealed.
The Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council is offering a free fair housing training seminar for owners and managers of rental properties in the City of Milwaukee! Whether you've been managing properties for decades, or are new to the rental industry, this seminar will offer important, up-to-date information about how to comply with fair housing laws.
Online registration
The seminar will cover a wide range of fair housing topics, including:
While the seminar is free, attendees must register in advance.
If you need materials in alternate formats or other accommodations to access our services, please call 414-278-1240. This material presented during the seminar is intended for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Recording of the seminar is not permitted.
Compiled By Dawn Anastasi, RPA Board Member
Here are some recent Wisconsin-based housing news articles:
Why Madison rents are rising so fast and won’t slow down
“When I talk about Madison experiencing a housing crisis, this is what I mean,” said Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, who made city incentives to develop more rental units a staple of her reelection platform this spring. “We are seeing symptom after symptom of years of failing to produce enough housing and, in some ways, this is the inevitable result.”
Research shows Badger State is short on houses, developers fight to keep up with demand
According to the Wisconsin Counties Association and Forward Analytics, 140,000 homes need to be built by 2030 to keep up with demand for folks under 65. It's a staggering number to avoid a state-wide housing shortage. Researchers aren't optimistic, but developers said they think it's doable.
"This is something that's been coming for a long time," Dale Knapp said. Knapp's the research director for the Wisconsin Counties Association and Forward Analytics. Over the last several years, he and his team tracked housing numbers across the state, finding supply simply isn't meeting demand.
"The shortage is being driven by the large baby boom that is retiring and essentially leaving the workforce, but like other generations, staying in their homes and they'll continue to," Knapp explained.
Knapp said this is a problem because the baby-boom generation is 20 percent larger than previous generations, leaving fewer homes for people in the workforce.
Rent increases in Wisconsin cities among the steepest in the US
According to data sets from two rental-listing aggregator businesses, average monthly costs for 1- and 3-bedroom rentals in Wisconsin have jumped by as much as 25% since 2021.
In the United States as a whole, annual rent increases have remained under 10%, said Jonas Bordo, CEO and cofounder of rental marketplace Dwellsy, which provided national-level and Wisconsin city-level data for this analysis. That’s still twice a pre-covid era annual rate increase of around 4-5%.
50 New Homes For Early-Childhood Educators
A new partnership aims to build 50 affordable, owner-occupied homes for early-childhood educators that will help the future owners build wealth, while chipping away at the minority homeownership gap, improving neighborhoods and encouraging more workers to pursue a career in child care.
The homes, 1,000-square-foot, single-story structures, would be built on vacant lots near five early childhood centers. Each house would have three bedrooms, one full bathroom and a full basement.
According to a financing model included in the RFP, the funding will be allocated as a $109,000-per-home grant to a developer to close the gap between the estimated $209,000 cost to develop and build the house and the resulting $101,850 sale price.
The new homeowners would go through homebuying counseling and have an $87,000 30-year mortgage at 4% interest. The monthly mortgage payment, inclusive of taxes and insurance, is estimated to be $736 per month. Appliances are to be provided, as is a $15,000 downpayment.
An eviction case involving Berrada Properties generated a story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on May 14.
Jill Kastner, supervising attorney at Legal Action of Wisconsin, said the order is "going to have big impact on tenants in Milwaukee."
I disagree. This case WILL NOT HAVE A BIG IMPACT.
What happened here is that Berrada filed an eviction complaint without specifying what type of notice had been given to the tenant (it was a 5-day notice) or the day it was given. What Berrada said on the complaint was simply:
"Defendant(s) served with a termination of tenancy notice and failed to vacate the property."
The trial judge allowed the case to proceed but the appellate judge said the case should have been dismissed because the complaint did not sufficiently advise the tenant about the grounds for the eviction. The complaint did not state any dates on which anything happened. However, the appellate judge failed to consider that the tenant had received a notice which was dated and which would tell the tenant what she had to do to avoid an eviction.
Almost all evictions filed by landlords in Milwaukee County do at least state enough basic facts to let the case proceed. In fact, Legal Action admitted in its reply brief that "every other landlord in Milwaukee County" includes sufficient notice in their eviction complaints.
For example: Tenant was served on May 10, 2023 with a 5-day notice to pay delinquent rent or vacate the premises. Tenant has failed to pay the rent owed and has not vacated the premises. The amount of damages are to be determined.
That should be sufficient for the complaint.
Interestingly, the attorneys on both sides and the appeals judge failed to consider the correct solution when a bare-bones, unclear complaint is filed and the defendant is uncertain how to respond. Such a case should not be dismissed. The tenant's attorney should have filed a "motion for more definite statement" under sec. 802.06(5):
(5) Motion for more definite statement. If a pleading to which a responsive pleading is permitted is so vague or ambiguous that a party cannot reasonably be required to frame a responsive pleading, the party may move for a more definite statement before interposing a responsive pleading. The motion shall point out the defects complained of and the details desired.
This case is by one appellate judge, is unpublished and is not legal precedent.
But Berrada had filed an amended complaint which named a wrong address and a wrong defendant's name. That was a separate ground to dismiss the complaint so the appeals court WAS correct to dismiss the eviction on THAT basis.
Link: Court of Appeals Decision (PDF)
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