Residential Dwelling Rentals Bill Advancing Rapidly!
December 8, 2015
As outlined in yesterday's Capitol Insider, LRB-3993/1 was formally introduced by State Representative Scott Allen (R-Waukesha) late yesterday as 2015 Assembly Bill 583 relating to Residential Dwelling Rentals. Also as predicted yesterday, this bill has been added just this morning to the bills being considered at a public hearing by the Assembly Committee on Housing and Real Estate this Thursday, Dec. 10, starting at 10:00 am at the Capitol. You will note that there are a total of six bills being heard at this hearing, so this may take a number of hours (less than 2 hours is unlikely!). WH&LA plans to present testimony noting our concerns in addition to a number of other organizations and individuals on both sides.
Key components of AB 583
- A municipality would not be able to have local ordinances that prohibit, regulate the duration or frequency of, or unreasonably restrict a "Residential dwelling rental."
- "Residential dwelling" is defined as "any building, structure, or part of the building or structure, that is primarily used and occupied for human habitation or intended to be so used and includes any appurtenances belonging to it or usually enjoyed with it."
- "Residential dwelling rental" is defined as a residential dwelling that is offered for rent exclusively for periods of seven consecutive days or longer.
- A Residential dwelling rental would not be considered a "hotel" for state licensing and regulatory purposes.
- A city/village/town/county ("political subdivision") would have the authority to enact ordinances covering inspections of & according inspection fees on residential dwellings, imposing room tax on them, setting annual license fees or other fees that may be imposed on persons who rent out their residential dwellings, and relating to nuisances related to such dwellings. These would all be at the choice of the political subdivision - in other words they may or may not have any of these noted ordinances apply to residential dwellings - it would differ from municipality or county to others.
Some concerns WH&LA identified
In addition to the obvious concerns over an unlevel playing field with the rental of overnight stays, the following are just a few additional points:
- Each community could have different ordinances and requirements... or possibly none.
- State and County Sales taxes are not addressed.
- The difference between being the owner's primary residence and being an investment property for renting out is not clear and allows for broad interpretation.
- We do not believe it is possible to ensure any residential dwelling is only rented out for seven days or longer, and thus is eligible for the exceptions in the legislation.
- Compliance with local zoning ordinances is not mentioned, nor any basic safety or liability protections, nor compliance with the ADA, etc.
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