At a public hearing Wednesday, lawmakers and citizens debated new legislation which would make sweeping changes to current tenant-landlord laws.

According to an analysis of the bill from the Legislative Reference Bureau, tenants of a building would be required to submit a written request to the landlord and give the landlord an adequate amount of time to address the issue before contacting a public official or building inspector.

However, the analysis does not define what “adequate amount of time” means, and the definition of what an appropriate response time could be was a controversial issue at the hearing.

“This bill tips the balance between tenants and landlords more even,” Sen. Frank Lasee, R-De Pere, said. “Most people are out there acting properly, and we’ve got so many strong laws it’s just hard to keep everything straight.”

Lasee explained that if a tenant had a broken washer or leaky faucet, this bill would ensure the tenant contacted his landlord first before going to someone else, which would save the city and other parties time as well as unnecessary conflict.

He also said notifying landlords in writing makes the problem more apparent and introduces more accountability into the system.

“If you haven’t fixed the leaky toilet in three months, then they can go forward and contact the elected official, but not before,” Lasee said.

Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, said the bill benefits landlords over renters. He said the bill is attempting to stop people from contacting their local representatives or alders.

Larson added the bill could hurt tenants because it may provide an incentive for landlords to bury legal provisions in the leases of the tenants.

Colin Gillis, a member of the Wisconsin Alliance for Tenants Rights, expressed concern with the provision requiring tenants to write a notice before contacting an outside party.

“Say, for example, a heating issue is brought forward, and it’s quite cold,” Gillis said. “How much longer does one have to wait before one can contact the building inspector? It’s an ethical question. Giving the landlord ‘adequate time,’ … that term becomes very vague and could create a significant amount of disagreement.”

Gillis added the bill could create a legal gray area over whether a neighbor would be held accountable for noticing a problem in a nearby building, which he said is often the case.

When Larson asked Gillis what an appropriate definition of “adequate time” would be, Gillis responded there could be no solid definition because every situation will be different. Gillis said this would be the major problem in enacting the legislation.

Nancy Jensen, executive director of the Apartment Association of South Central Wisconsin, said she supported the bill because it modernizes and standardizes state law.

Jensen also expressed support for the adoption of a provision to the law which would allow tenants to bypass the written notification and go directly to a local official or building inspector in an emergency.

According to its analysis, the bill would also take away several other current rights held by tenants, including the right not to be evicted during the Christmas holiday and the right to receive additional awards from landlords when a tenant successfully sues over failure to return a security deposit or disclose repair issues.