By Danielle Miller
The city of Milwaukee is experiencing groups of new tenants who are moving into the city. According to the online firm, Rent Jungle, the cost of a two bedroom within the city increased by 1.4%, or $19, with the most expensive apartments located in the Upper East Side.
The average price for apartments around Milwaukee, according to Rent Jungle, stands at around $1,409 with areas like Concordia, Forest Home Hills, Riverwest and Washington Park having an average reported price below $800.
According to BizTimes, Milwaukee Business News, a study reports Milwaukee has experienced the largest rent increase in the nation, and some raising the cost of apartments in the city as high as 15 percent. The study was done by ABODO, an online firm based in Madison, Wi, in 2016.
A trend, according to Rent Café, shows that 42 percent of apartments are ranged from $701 to $1,000, and placed such as West Allis with an average cost of $851 and the Lower East Side with an average of $1,225.
Thomas Witzel, Executive Director of the University Legal Clinic at UW-Milwaukee said that it is important to take as many photos as possible before moving in and after moving out of the apartment to avoid disputes with the landlord.
“The most common issue is security deposit disputes—that is why it is important to take photos,” Witzel said about ways to have proof about claims.
Primary issues many tenants face are security deposits disputes, evictions, failure to make repairs in the unit and lock outs.
Under Wisconsin Statute Chapter 704, which lists the duties and responsibilities of the landlord and the tenant, holds the ‘can’ and ‘cannot’ rules for both landlord and tenant, such as that no physical changes can be made on the premise, and the importance of having a check-in sheet before the new tenant moves in.
“Trying to get out of a lease is something that the tenant will have to talk to an attorney about,” Witzel said.
Those who are enrolled in UW-Milwaukee with a minimum of 6 credits can use the services of the UWM Legal Clinic to open a case and review legal claims to help resolve the situation.
“If the tenant is a UWM student, they can stop in for a free lease review,” Witzel said, “Our Staff Attorney will give his opinion on it, and keep the case open throughout the tenancy if issues are to arise.”
