How Shitty is Your Landlord?

In a recently published article, we noted that holding landlords accountable seems to be in the air in Milwaukee. And while we also noted that the city needs to pick up the pace, organizations throughout Milwaukee seem to be moving in the same direction. But until the city’s institutions catch-up, you, average (Milwaukee-based) reader, may be wondering how can you protect yourself from these leeches? This article will be something of a guide to help you navigate the systems and resources out there in Milwaukee. 

The More You Know

Simply knowing how much of a piece of shit your current landlord (or potential landlord if you are apartment hunting) is can be an invaluable tool. There are a couple of great, user-friendly databases you can use to have a better grasp of the shittiness of a given landlord. Both of these databases use public data put together by Marquette Law School's Lubar Center for Public Policy Research and Civic Education. As an aside, this is the type of tangible public good universities should be giving back to their communities.

Landlord Mapper is a database where you can search either by a specific address or by a specific owner. It allows you to see a heat map of all the properties owned by a specific landlord as well as the various LLCs they own (landlords looooooooove having a plethora of LLCs to hide behind, obscure their identity, and avoid accountability), and whether or not the specific LLC that owns a building is in good standing with the State of Wisconsin. Being able to connect all the various LLCs will be vital for institutions moving forward as it will allow them to target all of a landlord’s portfolio, not just a specific property.

Milwaukee Property Ownership Network Project provides similar data (related LLCs, owner name) for a given property, but also gives you some great insight into how much of a scumbag a landlord is. Besides the related LLCs, the real gem of this database is that, for a given owner, you can see how many code violations and eviction filings they have (both overall and per 100 units they own).

Because these databases use public data, it is important to note that it cannot be guaranteed to be 100% accurate, but provides an excellent baseline and high level picture.

Rent Withholding

Obviously, not everyone has the privilege of being able to choose exactly where they live and we recognize that by necessity folks still end up living under abusive landlords. We also know landlords are petty little leeches who whine about even the most miniscule slight. With that in mind, while this section contains resources to help deal with these assholes, know that even if you do everything ‘by the book,’ they may still retaliate, so keep that in mind and know your risk tolerance. 

The main takeaway is that if your landlord refuses to make repairs to your living unit that affect your health, safety, or basic livability, you are entitled to withhold paying rent until they make the repair. But you have to follow a specific process if you want to legally protect yourself. If your landlord refuses to make a repair, you can contact the Department of Neighborhood Services (DNS) who will then send an inspector to document the repairs needed and issue a code violation if needed. From there you essentially coordinate with DNS if rent withholding is justified and if that is the case, you pay rent to an account held by DNS until your landlord makes the proper repairs. So unfortunately you still need to pay rent, but it does give you a tool to hurt your landlord in the one area that actually matters to them: their bottom line.

This article provides greater details as well as some legal resources such as Legal Action and Legal Aid Society if you need further assistance.

It goes without saying that the city and our public institutions should be the ones holding these landlords accountable on a systemic level, not us individuals. And while they seem to be moving in that direction, we still need to survive until they catch up. It is our hope that these resources can support our community in that.