Following the sexual assault of a female tenant in an apartment building near Camp Randall Stadium, the Madison City Council has been working to pass an ordinance enforcing the placement of locks on all external apartment doors. Yesterday, the Landlord and Tenant Issues Committee unanimously passed that ordinance.
\This is a long time coming. Personally, I'm embarrassed that we've allowed this loophole to be left on building codes ... It is unfortunate that it took a sexual assault to bring this to light,"" Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said.
If the ordinance is passed in the City Council Dec. 14, apartment buildings will have 180 days to comply instead of 60 days as quoted in the original wording of the ordinance, Ald. Judy Olson, District 6, said.
""This change was due mostly to the locksmith industry in Madison which expressed concern with the number of apartment buildings that would be in need of new locks,"" Verveer said.
A new addition to the ordinance is the exclusion of buildings that are both residential and commercial.
""External doors can remain unlocked during operations,"" Olson said.
However, locks will be demanded for laundry rooms and other common areas in basements of buildings.
Preceding the vote, Nancy Jensen, executive director of the Apartment Association of South Central Wisconsin, worked alongside landlords with the Use Your Locks campaign to promote the ordinance.
""We've received complaints from less than five landlords on the ordinance,"" Olson said in regard to the overall support she has seen for her efforts.
""This ordinance makes sense,"" Olson said. ""It reduces the liability of landlords.""
The exclusion of sorority and fraternity houses, as suggested by a member of the apartment locks subcommittee, will not be included in the wording of the ordinance.
""Locks will be enforced on these houses due to the overall vulnerability of the location,"" Olson said.
If support from the Madison Police Department, the Apartment Association and the unanimous votes of both the subcommittee and Landlord and Tenant Committee are any indication of the council's Dec. 14 vote, universal locks on apartment doors are to appear in the near future.
