Just A Landlord

A thread from one of the rental property email list I subscribe to begins with a question regarding a lease that was invalidated due to a provision requiring the tenant to pay the landlord’s attorney contrary to  Wisconsin ATCP 134. Below is a follow up question:

So if the tenancy is disolved and i can not enforce the lease but shouldnt i be able to enforce the damages they did? otherwise this allows tenannts to be sneaky. not pay rent and damage and walk away better.

My response was as follows (cleaned up a bit from the original):

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Attorney Tristan Pettit is presenting the Landlord Boot Camp again this February.  Prior Boot Camps were very well received, with positive feed back from all that attended

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So you’re telling me if there is one thing in a Wisconsin lease/rental agreement that violates the rules in ATCP 134.08 that I cannot enforce any of the agreement?

Yes, under Baierl v McTaggart the entire lease is invalid as far as the landlord’s enforcement. But it is worse than that. The Court ruled subsequent to Baierl in Dawson v. Goldammer that the tenant can enforce the parts they like. (more…)