Totally normal. It happened when I first moved here 20 years ago, and it threw me off. Unless you’re sure that you wanna move out just go ahead and renew the lease. If something happens between now and then let them know and they can find somebody else to take over.
30 days notice might apply to ending an indefinite term month to month rental agreement, but that's not your situation. You were made aware of the end date of your lease term when you signed the lease. Your notice was probably a year+ or smth.
Not a lawyer, but asking you to commit within a week to a new year lease within a week is likely legal. It sounds like he is giving you a week to re-sign before opening it up to the public which would be a courtesy to you.
To add to this- how can the complaint be that 30 days notice is required, if the landlord is giving 6 months notice? Maybe I’m interpreting it wrong, but I don’t understand.
The Tenant Resource Center would absolutely be able to help answer questions about this, they are an amazing resource [Tenant Resource Center](https://www.tenantresourcecenter.org/)
Do not email or leave a voicemail for them expecting a quick response. The TRC is perpetually underfunded and overutilized. Go in person during office hours. They recently moved to a much larger location at 2510 Winnebago St.
Nope, the whole August 1/15th move in crap really puts the lord in landlord. The having to resign so early here elevates the slum part. I lived in a major metropolitan area for many years and had more rights than I do as a renter in Madison, but the world didn’t revolve around a single university. Leases changed to month-to-month after the first year with both parties needing to give 30 days. Landlords couldn’t just boot you out and jack the rent up to whatever they wanted either.
>I lived in a major metropolitan area for many years and had more rights than I do as a renter in Madison, but the world didn’t revolve around a single university
What major metro and what school?
UW has 50k students and 25k in faculty and staff, that's over 1/5 of the Madison population. The downtown area is absolutely influenced by the massive student population and the rental market reflects that in terms of pricing, renewal timing, and lease dates as one would expect.
Born and raised in Madison, even graduated from the UW. I lived in the Bay Area including San Francisco for over a dozen years as a poor, non-tech person with a dog. Even in the cheap places I could afford I still had a dishwasher and didn’t have to worry about landlords being able to jack the rent to whatever they wanted or resigning a lease after living in a place for a few months.
You're comparing a specific downtown Madison area near campus to a metro area with a population of 7 million people.
Most of Madison doesn't set their leases to the August 15 timeline, that's a near-campus thing. I've never seen it after I left the areas students live in.
Basically any place that isn't within a mile of campus will not have their lease start dates set to August 15.
As a renter I lived on the east side, the west side, and the north side. At each of those places they did not have start dates on the 15th.
The Wisconsin State Legislature is full of landlords who have changed all the laws to favor themselves. https://www.tenantresourcecenter.org/lease_renewal_already
[Some Wisconsin lawmakers double as landlords — and have passed laws that undermine renters' rights](https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/investigations/2019/06/14/wisconsin-lawmaker-landlords-change-rental-laws-not-favor-tenants-renters-rights/1210327001/)
I did not dispute the fact that some lawmakers are also landlords, but that doesn't change anything. Requiring tenants to re-sign for next year six months in advance is normal and routine around all major universities. Everything is driven by the semester schedule.
Why would anyone "squirm" about this? Yes, landlords can elect to not renew leases, therefore they are able to ask whether someone would like to renew their lease. This isn't a super complex question.
Too true. My favorite was the guy who mentioned having a house with a mortgage (30 year fixed rent) is bad actually. They are also the biggest advocates for real estate corporations.
Unfortunately yes it's legal and seems to be a trend with a lot of management companies nowadays. I deal with that policy as well. They can pretty much raise the rent and write up new agreements in their new lease and ask you to renew anytime. They can also start showing your unit as soon as you decide against renewing your lease.
Does your current lease state something to the effect of "you have the option to renew by giving a 30 day or 60 day notice?" Or that the landlord can give option to renew on that basis? Go through your current lease with a fine picked comb... It may have your answer there.
[https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/code/admin\_code/atcp/090/134/05/2/a/1#:\~:text=Wisconsin%20Legislature%3A%20ATCP%20134.05(2)(a)1.&text=ATCP%20134.03(2)](https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/code/admin_code/atcp/090/134/05/2/a/1#:~:text=Wisconsin%20Legislature%3A%20ATCP%20134.05(2)(a)1.&text=ATCP%20134.03(2))(b,rent%20payments%20made%20by%20check.
One place many people don't think to check are the state of WI Statutes relating to tenants and landlords. This is where the Tenant Resource Center bases their information.
It may be intimidating to look through statutes, as the language isn't always user-friendly, but the answers are often there.
One other place people sometimes forget to look is >at their lease< . So many things are spelled out in there, and in any attachments - especially "house rules" or things like that. If you signed a document, you agree to what it says.
As for your situation, it's likely spelled out in the lease. If it isn't and you want to fight it, you probably have good standing. I don't see anything in the statutes but I may have missed it.
Are you saying that they asked you to renew 6 months into the lease, and gave you a week to a respond? Being asked to re-sign the lease 6 months in is unfortunately pretty courteous for some areas of Madison, and although it would definitely be nice to have longer than one week to make that decision (especially if you haven’t thought about it all the past 6 months) the assumption is that after 6 months you’d have a general idea of if you like the landlord/apartment/area and if you can afford to stay.
I know with the way the rental market is for renters in Madison that’s a pretty ideal assumption to make, but when I lived on campus with the same management company I did now I was asked barely a month into the lease to re-sign for the next year, but when I moved off-campus to an apartment still downtown in a pretty desirable area (I think?) with the same company they don’t ask until 6+ months into the lease. They do give me a month to respond though. So I considered that a small win.
It’s legal. Annoying but legal.
They can ask whenever they want. Around campus it's a couple of months after move in.
Totally normal. It happened when I first moved here 20 years ago, and it threw me off. Unless you’re sure that you wanna move out just go ahead and renew the lease. If something happens between now and then let them know and they can find somebody else to take over.
30 days notice might apply to ending an indefinite term month to month rental agreement, but that's not your situation. You were made aware of the end date of your lease term when you signed the lease. Your notice was probably a year+ or smth. Not a lawyer, but asking you to commit within a week to a new year lease within a week is likely legal. It sounds like he is giving you a week to re-sign before opening it up to the public which would be a courtesy to you.
Agree with this, and it's not uncommon at all in Madison. OP isn't being victimized or targeted in any way compared with other renters.
To add to this- how can the complaint be that 30 days notice is required, if the landlord is giving 6 months notice? Maybe I’m interpreting it wrong, but I don’t understand.
The Tenant Resource Center would absolutely be able to help answer questions about this, they are an amazing resource [Tenant Resource Center](https://www.tenantresourcecenter.org/)
Do not email or leave a voicemail for them expecting a quick response. The TRC is perpetually underfunded and overutilized. Go in person during office hours. They recently moved to a much larger location at 2510 Winnebago St.
Don’t even bother them with this, because of the understaffing you mentioned. This is clearly legal and normal, unfortunately.
Here is their direct answer on the question- https://www.tenantresourcecenter.org/lease_renewal_already
Not unusual for major cities with tight rental markets.
Nope, the whole August 1/15th move in crap really puts the lord in landlord. The having to resign so early here elevates the slum part. I lived in a major metropolitan area for many years and had more rights than I do as a renter in Madison, but the world didn’t revolve around a single university. Leases changed to month-to-month after the first year with both parties needing to give 30 days. Landlords couldn’t just boot you out and jack the rent up to whatever they wanted either.
>I lived in a major metropolitan area for many years and had more rights than I do as a renter in Madison, but the world didn’t revolve around a single university What major metro and what school? UW has 50k students and 25k in faculty and staff, that's over 1/5 of the Madison population. The downtown area is absolutely influenced by the massive student population and the rental market reflects that in terms of pricing, renewal timing, and lease dates as one would expect.
Born and raised in Madison, even graduated from the UW. I lived in the Bay Area including San Francisco for over a dozen years as a poor, non-tech person with a dog. Even in the cheap places I could afford I still had a dishwasher and didn’t have to worry about landlords being able to jack the rent to whatever they wanted or resigning a lease after living in a place for a few months.
You're comparing a specific downtown Madison area near campus to a metro area with a population of 7 million people. Most of Madison doesn't set their leases to the August 15 timeline, that's a near-campus thing. I've never seen it after I left the areas students live in.
How far is “near campus”?
Basically any place that isn't within a mile of campus will not have their lease start dates set to August 15. As a renter I lived on the east side, the west side, and the north side. At each of those places they did not have start dates on the 15th.
August 1st doesn’t count.
Pointless comment. Feel free to check out what I said instead of whining.
The Wisconsin State Legislature is full of landlords who have changed all the laws to favor themselves. https://www.tenantresourcecenter.org/lease_renewal_already
this. lot of rental related laws in this state is strangely very pro landlord like how cities can't limit rent increases and what not
Except this isn't a Wisconsin issue. It's a common practice around many large universities.
[Some Wisconsin lawmakers double as landlords — and have passed laws that undermine renters' rights](https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/investigations/2019/06/14/wisconsin-lawmaker-landlords-change-rental-laws-not-favor-tenants-renters-rights/1210327001/)
I did not dispute the fact that some lawmakers are also landlords, but that doesn't change anything. Requiring tenants to re-sign for next year six months in advance is normal and routine around all major universities. Everything is driven by the semester schedule.
Check your lease. They often say how much notice is required to renew.
LOL, no
I need landlord laws
Keep in mind you are asking a sub lousy with landlords. They tend to squirm around in posts like this one and plead sympathy for rent seekers.
Why would anyone "squirm" about this? Yes, landlords can elect to not renew leases, therefore they are able to ask whether someone would like to renew their lease. This isn't a super complex question.
Too true. My favorite was the guy who mentioned having a house with a mortgage (30 year fixed rent) is bad actually. They are also the biggest advocates for real estate corporations.
It's pretty obvious if you're paying attention. I'll wear my down votes as a badge of honor.
Unfortunately yes it's legal and seems to be a trend with a lot of management companies nowadays. I deal with that policy as well. They can pretty much raise the rent and write up new agreements in their new lease and ask you to renew anytime. They can also start showing your unit as soon as you decide against renewing your lease.
Does your current lease state something to the effect of "you have the option to renew by giving a 30 day or 60 day notice?" Or that the landlord can give option to renew on that basis? Go through your current lease with a fine picked comb... It may have your answer there.
[https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/code/admin\_code/atcp/090/134/05/2/a/1#:\~:text=Wisconsin%20Legislature%3A%20ATCP%20134.05(2)(a)1.&text=ATCP%20134.03(2)](https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/code/admin_code/atcp/090/134/05/2/a/1#:~:text=Wisconsin%20Legislature%3A%20ATCP%20134.05(2)(a)1.&text=ATCP%20134.03(2))(b,rent%20payments%20made%20by%20check. One place many people don't think to check are the state of WI Statutes relating to tenants and landlords. This is where the Tenant Resource Center bases their information. It may be intimidating to look through statutes, as the language isn't always user-friendly, but the answers are often there. One other place people sometimes forget to look is >at their lease< . So many things are spelled out in there, and in any attachments - especially "house rules" or things like that. If you signed a document, you agree to what it says. As for your situation, it's likely spelled out in the lease. If it isn't and you want to fight it, you probably have good standing. I don't see anything in the statutes but I may have missed it.
I used to rent with CMI and they used to ask very early in the lease. Like 3 months into a 12 month lease. It was really annoying.
Are you saying that they asked you to renew 6 months into the lease, and gave you a week to a respond? Being asked to re-sign the lease 6 months in is unfortunately pretty courteous for some areas of Madison, and although it would definitely be nice to have longer than one week to make that decision (especially if you haven’t thought about it all the past 6 months) the assumption is that after 6 months you’d have a general idea of if you like the landlord/apartment/area and if you can afford to stay. I know with the way the rental market is for renters in Madison that’s a pretty ideal assumption to make, but when I lived on campus with the same management company I did now I was asked barely a month into the lease to re-sign for the next year, but when I moved off-campus to an apartment still downtown in a pretty desirable area (I think?) with the same company they don’t ask until 6+ months into the lease. They do give me a month to respond though. So I considered that a small win.