The city’s Landlord and Tenant Issues Subcommittee passed an ordinance Thursday stating apartment management companies cannot rent property until half of the lease period has passed.
Representatives from area property management companies — including Madison Property Management President Jim Stopple and associates from Steve Brown apartments — met with the subcommittee to address issues concerning apartment showings and leases.
The committee discussed a previous ordinance passed 10 years ago, where terms allowed management companies to rent properties after a quarter of the lease period had passed.
However, Ald. Bridget Maniaci, District 2, said certain managements were able to find a loophole in the wording of the ordinance, allowing them to supplement a non-standard rental provision with leases. As prospective tenants signed both lease and provision, this allowed managements to work outside of the ordinance and rent apartments anytime.
“It’s absurd to have to decide where to live for the next year when you’ve just settled in somewhere for only two months,” subcommittee member Phil Ejercito said about the current rental market situation.
He added the new ordinance will help to slow down the rush to sign leases, allowing tenants to have more time to think through before signing leases.
In the new ordinance, subcommittee members addressed a potential problem. Chairman David Sparer proposed to include language in the ordinance to protect tenants who are still bound to a lease.
The ordinance allows management companies to showcase apartments during the time when they are not allowed to lease. Outside parties who show interest may turn in applications during that time. This puts current tenants in a precarious situation as their lease renewal may be superseded by outside parties.
Maniaci said she would write another revision of the ordinance to be shared with the full committee. Along with the new rental period would be legally articulated language encompassing Sparer’s concern for the right of current tenants.
When asked about reactions from management companies, Ejercito said overall, they seemed to be disingenuous.
“We are not getting the full story from them, but the industry needs to accept responsibility for its role,” he said.
Associated Students of Madison members present at the event, however, seemed to show enthusiasm for the passing of the ordinance. Legislative Affairs Chair Adam Johnson said he was happy the concerns and opinions of University of Wisconsin students were heard.
He went on to state the importance of the upcoming full-committee meeting.
“This subcommittee was a small but necessary step in passing the ordinance,” Johnson said. “The next committee is the larger battle.”
Johnson stressed the importance of students showing up at meetings to support the ordinance, especially since they make up a great portion of tenants in the city.
As the meeting came to an end, the subcommittee stressed the need for UW to educate its students about apartment leases.
“There needs to be a conversation with the university colleagues on educating students,” Maniaci said. “We can extend invitations not to just UW, but to MATC and Edgewood as well.”
