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File #: 67531    Version: 1 Name: Rent Abatement Procedures
Type: Ordinance Status: Passed
File created: 2/2/2022 In control: Attorney's Office
On agenda: 4/19/2022 Final action: 4/19/2022
Enactment date: 5/3/2022 Enactment #: ORD-22-00030
Title: Amending Section 32.04, Relating to Rent Abatement Procedures.
Sponsors: Nikki Conklin, Michael E. Verveer
Fiscal Note
No additional City appropriation required for the proposed ordinance amendment.
Title
Amending Section 32.04, Relating to Rent Abatement Procedures.
Body
DRAFTER’S ANALYSIS: Under current Ordinances, an eligible tenant must seek rent abatement by filing a petition for rent abatement with the Building Inspection Division. Under this proposal, the Building Inspection Division orders the landlord to pay rent abatement, if the landlord fails to correct rent impairing violations by the original due date. The landlord has the right to appeal the Building Inspection Unit’s order to pay abatement to the tenant by filing a request for a hearing on the order to pay rent abatement. If the Landlord files a hearing request, a hearing is held before the hearing examiner to determine whether the landlord did not fail to correct the violations, the landlord was not responsible for the violations or the tenant unreasonably refused entry to the landlord for the purpose of correcting the violations.

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The Common Council of the City of Madison do hereby ordain as follows:

1. Subsection (2) entitled “Notice” of Section 32.04 entitled “Rent Abatement” of the Madison General Ordinances is amended as follows:

“(2) Notice. A list of addresses notice of rental properties with uncorrected rent-impairing violations shall be published each week in the official City paper sent by certified mail to the landlord and tenant of the subject property within ten (10) days of the reinspection which reveals noncompliance. Such notice shall indicate that the tenants may be are eligible for rent abatement at the maximum percentage of rent abatement available for each uncorrected rent-impairing violation and shall state that any such tenant must request the tenant or landlord may contest the authorization to abate rent within thirty (30) days of publication of the notice of eligibility by the Building...

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